Public Meeting Held at Trimsaran 9 July 2008
On probably the wettest night of the year over 250 local residents braved the elements to attend a public meeting hosted by Trimsaran Community Council and their Chair Person, Catherine Lloyd Jenkins.
In April, the developer held an equivalent meeting to share details of the proposed 50mw Power Station.
On 9 July presenters representing the Coedbach Action Group presented six topics with questions and answer sessions which were based on our research and thoughts into the proposed development.
During the evening we shared with the audience that:
· We think the potential for job creation in a Power Station is an estimated 20-40 jobs, versus 100s from existing granted planning permission for the site.
· There will be an additional 390 HGV movements per week on local roads with accompanying noise, pollution and safety implications.
· We think that the development is in conflict with up to 8 Carmarthenshire County Council Unitary Development Policies.
· The Environmental Impact Assessment that has been carried out for the proposal is very restricted in scope, eg 2km zone of impact vs 15km zone of impact for a similar development in Kings Dock,
· There has been no Human Health Impact Assessment carried out for the project when Swansea City Council has asked for one to be conducted for Kings Dock.
· That emissions and pollutants from the chimney stack will be an estimated 1 tonne per minute during full operation and we are concerned that chimney stack height has not been determined – it should be.
The issue which created most concern for attendees and residents was the potential impact of this proposal on local residents’ Human Health and there was a formal request from the audience for the council to conduct a full, objective and independent Human Health Impact Assessment on the application.
We now await Carmarthenshire County Council response to this request.
The audience asked many intelligent questions and a selection of these are now available to view on the Coedbach website www.coedbach.webs.com
We would encourage you to take a look at these questions and web site.
The Human Health Impact of Power Stations on People
Summary Extracts from Scientific Literature
In Australia the incidence of asthma in 850 children aged 5-12 compared in two coastal towns – one with a Power Station, one without.
Conclusion: Baseline lung functioning was lower and reported symptoms of asthma were 58% higher in the Power Station town (NSW Paediatrics study)
In
The strongest link was in women over 60 with 15.7% increase in artery thickness for every 10ug/m3 increase in pollution – current pollution emissions legislation allows for emissions of up to 50um/m3.
In the UK a report by the committee on the medical effects of air pollution have stated as a main finding, that outdoor air pollutants are likely to be associated with increased deaths and hospital admissions for cardiovascular disease. They then went on to state that “A precautionary principle should be adopted in future planning and policy development”.
In a Polish study of +1100 children aged 2-4.5 years, the findings revealed a significant increase in diagnosis of acute bronchitis when children were exposed to medium to high levels of airborne particulates.
In a UK research study, based on 10 cities, there is a direct correlation between levels of Sulphur Dioxide (SO2) and infant mortality/deaths. A 10ug/M3 showed a measurable and significant increase in infant mortality.
In Europe the EEC has halved set limits for PM10s from 2010 in response to concerns about the adverse health impact of particles with further reductions planned up to 2020.
Carmarthenshire County Council Planning Department have not asked for a Human Health Impact Assessment to be carried out on this application. As local residents this concerns us greatly.
This application will impact our health and our lives and it feels like we have been ignored and forgotten.
In the absence of the full and objective facts and data and analysis on our Human Health for this proposal, we ask that you reject Planning Application S/16781.