Where are CHAIN's facts to back all the hysteria? (From Northwich Guardian)

Where are CHAIN's facts to back all the hysteria?

1:57pm Wednesday 17th February 2010 in Your Letters

I LIKE to think I am a reasonable man and I want to hear all sides of the story before I make up my mind.

For example, much has been said and written about proposals for incinerators, waste-burning power stations etc in and around Northwich and Middlewich.

And here’s my view, for what it’s worth.

The protests from the anti-incinerator people of CHAIN have now reached such hysterical proportions they are doing its own cause great harm.

There are no facts, no figures, no research – just scaremongering and hysteria.

For example, every time CHAIN’s spokesman speaks on the subject, he ALWAYS seems to say the emissions and fly ash will be ‘toxic’ and ‘damage the health’ of people living in the shadow of the ‘massive, gigantic chimneys’ which will be built ‘almost in the town centre’. And don’t forget the ‘hundreds of extra lorry journeys’ bringing in the waste.

CHAIN claims the Covanta plant in Middlewich will be ‘twice the size of Wembley Stadium’. Covanta says it will be a 10th of the size. Someone’s ‘facts’ are wrong.

And CHAIN never lets us forget Brunner Mond’s owners are Indian, and based in Mumbai, or Covanta is an American company, although what this has to do with anything escapes me.

And let’s not forget that house prices in the area ‘will tumble’ if one or more of the plans goes ahead.

Sorry, CHAIN, but methinks you doth protest too much.

Where is your evidence all emissions and fly ash will be toxic?

Where is your evidence it will damage health?

Where is your evidence the chimneys will be massive?

Where is your evidence there will be hundreds of extra lorry journeys?

Where is your evidence about the size of either the Covanta or Brunner Mond incinerators?

I agree this part of Cheshire has more than its fair share of incinerator/power plant plans but what is needed is calm, rational discussion.

For example, Brunner Mond’s plans are to build a power station on the site of an existing disused power station. Anyone who bought a house near the Lostock works can hardly now start complaining they live near a chemical works.

And why would Brunner Mond, or anyone else on that site, elect to ship waste in by road when it has its own railhead?

The fact is we have to deal with our waste and incineration is a viable option. It is a well-used solution in countries with far more stringent environmental protection laws than ours.

I am a great advocate of recycling but it will be a long time before that has a real effect.

Try living near a landfill site, as I do, to see what that’s like – bad smells and flies during the summer and hundreds of massive lorries going to the site all day every day.

I’d swap the landfill site for a power from waste incinerator in a heartbeat.

But what I’d really like, before I make up my mind, is calm, factual evidence from both sides.

Just for the record, I don’t live in Northwich but I do spend every working day here and no, I do not work for Brunner Mond, Covanta, RRS or any other waste or chemical company.

KEVIN GREY Warrington