Wednesday 29th October. Preliminary Oral Hearing, Green Isle Hotel

A U.S. Waste Incinerator Company, ENERGY ANSWERS has made a planning application to build a Waste Incinerator facility at a site known as Behan’s Quarry, 3 km south of Rathcoole on the N7. The application was made directly to An Bord Pleanala under The Strategic Infrastructure Development Plan (2006 Act). Strategic Infrastructure Development can generally be described as a development, which is of strategic, economic or social importance to the State or a region. Heretofore, such planning applications were made to the local planning authority with a right of appeal to An Bord Pleanala.

Because of the fact that there were so many objections (over 270) to the Waste Incinerator, An Bord Pleanala decided to hold a preliminary Oral Hearing here In the Green Isle Hotel to-day. It is expected that the first item which the objectors will raise is the matter of costs – legal, planning, surveys etc. Then the members of An Bord are expected to outline the format of the actual Oral Hearing which begins on Wednesday 12th November (also at the Green Isle Hotel) – who the objectors are and at what stage of the Hearing they will be requested to make their submissions. As this is the very first Preliminary Oral Hearing of its kind dealing with Waste Incinerators and under the Strategic Infrastructure Act, it promises to be a most interesting occasion.

ENERGY ANSWERS propose to incinerate 365,000 tons of rubbish a year. The plant would operate 24 hours a day, 7 days a week – noise and strong odours and HGV traffic would have a huge impact on the lives of people for miles around. Some people believe that waste Incineration creates a Magical Disappearance of Waste. In fact…nothing disappears. For every 3 tons of waste incinerated one ton of toxic ash is left behind and 2 tons are emitted into the atmosphere as Dioxins. Winds will blow these dioxins all over the neighbouring areas and when the rain falls, the Dioxins will fall as well.

What are Dioxins?
Dioxins is a generic term for a group of more than 200 individual chemical compounds. Each of these has a different degree of toxicity. They are the most toxic chemicals known to science.
Dioxins cause cancer, liver kidney and digestive tract damage,
Miscarriage and sterility, birth defects etc. The fall-out range of Dioxins has a radius of 35 miles (56 km.)

Dioxins are inhaled by humans and animals. Children inhale 25 times faster than adults and so are more at risk. Dioxins are bioaccumulative – that is they accumulate in the body and we cannot excrete them. When they emerge after a number of years the damage is done and the result may be fatal.

The Rathcoole Against Incinerator Dioxins (R.A.I.D.) committee is one of the main objectors to this Waste Incinerator. Why are they objecting ?
The greatest fear of a Waste Incinerator that the residents of Rathcoole /Saggart/ Newcastle/ Lucan/Kill/Clondalkin/Tallaght have is the emission of Dioxins. Also, the fear of extra traffic, strong odours and constant noise. They do not wish Rathcoole to be known as ‘The Incinerator Village’.

Poulaphouca Water Reservoir (6.5 miles or 10km from Rathcoole, as the crow flies) is one of the main water supplies for Dublin city and suburbs. This reservoir is well within the fall-out zone of Dioxins from a proposed Waste Incinerator in Rathcoole. That means that over 1 million Dublin people could be drinking Dioxin and mercury/lead contaminated water, if this incinerator goes ahead. Imagine a fire at the Incinerator plant? And fires have occurred in many waste incinerators throughout the world. The N7 motorway would possibly be closed down for at least 24 hours. Remember that the proposed site of the Waste Incinerator is only 200 metres from the N7!

So, the location of Rathcoole – on the edge of a 1.5 million population – and Rathcoole/ Saggart/Newcastle is one of the most attractive locations in Dublin to settle down and live. Crime rate is low. We have schools, churches, a bank and lots of shops. Beside us is the largest hotel in Ireland – Citywest Hotel with its two golf courses, Leisure centre, restaurants etc.
We are close to many attractive shopping centres - Citywest, Liffey Valley, The Square etc.
Just nearby is the N7 which brings you south to Cork, Kerry or Waterford. We are only 15 minutes drive to the road West and 15 minutes drive to the M50. We are 10 miles from Dublin’s O’Connell Street and yet when you get up in the morning and look out the bedroom window you can see the Dublin Mountains! And to think that ENERGY ANSWERS - a big multi million dollar waste incinerator company from the U.S. is planning to come and spoil it all! Are we gullible and stupid enough to allow this to happen? We must fight against this.
On the Co. Kildare border is the worst possible site for a Waste Incinerator.

An incinerator produces thousands of tons of ash every year and as it contains dioxins and heavy metals such as lead, mercury and cadmium, it is extremely dangerous. There is no toxic ash landfill in Ireland nor do we wish to have one because ash landfills are a legacy of poison that must be monitored for eternity. The ash from an incinerator can never become non-toxic because most of the poisonous materials in them – the heavy metals – do not biodegrade, that is, they will never break down to simple, harmless products.
The planning application to An Bord Pleanala by Energy Answers consists of over 1000 pages – not once does it make reference to incinerator ash or how they could dispose of it.

REMINDER : PUBLIC MEETING IN RATHCOOLE COMMUNITY CENTRE THIS THURSDAY 30th OCTOBER AT 8.30 pm . YOUR SUPPORT IS IMPORTANT. PLEASE ATTEND AND SHOW THAT YOU CARE

Other objectors include;
The National Roads Authority, South Dublin Council and all its councilors, Ted Walsh, Goffs Bloodstock Agency, Punchestown and Naas Racecourses, Tallaght Residents’ Umbrella, Cavan Developments, Garyaron Homes Ltd. Maplewood Developments, Lamberton Developments, LM Developments, Mc Hale Plant Hire, Dublin Regional Authorities, The Dept. of Environment, Heritage and Local Government, An Taisce, Kildare C. Council Planning Authority, Eastern Regional Fisheries Board, Ministerrof State, John Curran, Brian Hayes TD, Paul Gogarty TD, Rathcoole Heritage Society etc etc.

Liam Mc Dermott PRO for Rathcoole Against Incinerator Dioxins (RAID)
Phone: 087 6695390