CAP: Scrap Blue Valley incinerator project
,
Malaysians
who consume vegetable produce from
Cameron Highlands may face the risk of toxic chemical poisoning if an
incinerator is put into operation in the highlands' Blue Valley, the
Consumers Association of Penang (CAP) warns.
CAP wants the
government to scrap the incinerator
project as it will poison the environment, people and the food supply
with poisonous chemicals.
In a
statement today, CAP president SM Mohamed Idris said there was plenty
of evidence to prove the harmful effects of incinerator emissions and
ashes.
"Cancer, birth
defects, reproductive system dysfunction, neurological damage and
respiratory ailments are only some of the health effects known to occur
from very low exposure to many of the heavy metals, chlorine and other
pollutants released by incinerators," he said.
Work on the RM38
million incinerator, being undertaken by
Housing and Local Government Ministry about a kilometre from the Blue
Valley tea plantation, started in 2008 and was due to be completed in
February this year, but work on it is still going on.
Idris said
pollutants emitted
into the air by incinerators have been shown to accumulate on and in
food crops.
"This is of grave
concern to Malaysian consumers as Cameron Highlands is a major source
of food crops. While thorough washing of the vegetables may remove some
of the pollutants on their surface, a significant amount will remain,"
he warned.
On Wednesday,
about 40 residents in the Blue Valley area, Parti Sosialis Malaysia
(PSM) members led by its Cameron Highlands branch secretary Suresh Kumar
and CAP representative S Mageswari staged a one-hour protest outside
the project site.
"We need to put
a stop to dirty, harmful waste disposal technologies such as thermal
plants and land filling.
"Public
money should not be used to fund projects that will end up releasing
greenhouse gases and other environmental pollutants," argued Idris.
'Unproven
in real-world situation'
He added: "The detailed
environmental impact
assessment (EIA) report for this thermal treatment project in Cameron
Highlands states that the technology was tested in a pilot project.
"This
reveals that the proposed
technology was derived largely from a laboratory experiment that is
unproven in a large-scale, real-world situation. A flawed assessment
based on assumptions will bring about negative consequences to public
health and the environment."
He
said every thermal treatment plant released a cocktail of harmful
chemicals during its operational life. Although incinerator fumes passed
through expensive filter systems, modern incinerators still emitted
significant levels of nitrogen oxides and ultrafine particles.
Nano-particles
were of great
concern because they could pass through the lung lining, causing
internal inflammation, penetrate internal organs and even the foetus in a
pregnant mother.
Some
extremely harmful chemicals, such as dioxin and dioxin-like compounds
that can cause cancers, are released in trace quantities and these build
up in the environment and in human tissues and fat.
Idris said
there were
alternatives to incineration, which were cheaper, more flexible and
better for the environment and it would therefore be wise of the
government to halt the building of the Blue Valley project.
"Rather
than incinerating waste,
local authorities should focus on waste minimisation, maximise
composting, safe recycling and provide separate food and organic waste
collection facilities for treatment by composting," he added.
Concentrate
on 'zero waste' programmes
Meanwhile, Suresh told Malaysiakini that the Housing and Local Government
Ministry should concentrate on 'zero waste' programmes, which were being
practised by countries like India and Philippines, instead of wasting
public funds on incinerators that are a health hazard.
"What is
the government's stand
on environmental safety," he asked, "as it goes about preaching the 3Rs
of recycle, reuse and reduce? Will it go ahead and implement the RM38
million incinerator project in Cameron Highlands?"
He said the
practise of 3Rs was more practical for
Cameron Highlands where about 50 percent of the organic waste was
reusable.
Apparently, Suresh
added, the government has not learned from its past lessons of building
incinerators in Pulau Langkawi, Pulau Pangkor, Pulau Tioman and Labuan,
which have become white elephants due to their high cost of operation.
