Letters | Sunday, 07 June 2009

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A health hazard in the south

As a paediatrician working and living in the south of Malta I cannot but feel disappointed at the blatant disregard by our government of our children’s health and wellbeing.
Once we joined the EU I thought the government would be more considerate towards our environment and our health, but I must admit I was wrong. Building a power station in a tourist hotspot, with four densely populated villages within a two to five kilometre radius, ruining one of the last remaining fishing villages on the island and spoiling some of the most beautiful countryside in Malta is downright crazy.
But deciding to expand it and fuel it with the most polluting of available options is plainly irresponsible behaviour.
It is unacceptable that despite EU legislation, the government persists in operating the existing power station without filters and without regularly checking emissions. In a country where, over recent years, respiratory ailments in children have been increasing, such an environmental blunder is unacceptable.
If after 20 years of Nationalist government we cannot afford, like other European countries, a cleaner fuel for our power station, then we should build it elsewhere (ex. outskirts of Hal Far industrial estate near the coast, which is over 5km from nearest village), with a pipeline supplying fuel from the freeport.
Speaking of irresponsible decisions, the first prize undoubtedly goes to the minister who came out with the proposal of an incinerator. He even went as far as to describe it as ‘a green source of energy’. Does the minister know about the carcinogens (including dioxin and heavy metals) liberated by these plants to accumulate in our food chain? Has he come across the number of studies showing an increase in soft tissue sarcomas and Non-Hodgkin lymphoma around power plants in Italy and France? I refer the minister to the concern expressed by Roselyne Bachelot (French minister of ecology and sustained development) to the European Committee for Prevention and Precaution regarding the increased incidence of sarcoma around one of the French plants.
It is a sad situation indeed, that a citizen has to write in to the papers in defence of the environment and the health of our children against the threats of Maltese politicians who should be on the forefront on such issues. I would also like to appeal to the local councils involved, to set up an action committee to deal with the problem and if necessary, in the interests of its citizens, to sue the government in the local and EU courts.

Dr Patrick Zahra MD
Zabbar

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