Incinerator design defended at hearing

The proposed incinerator for the northeast would not be visible from Newgrange or the site of the Battle of the Boyne, would operate well within EU standards for emissions, and would not create a traffic hazard, the Bord Pleanála hearing into the project heard yesterday.

Indaver Ireland is seeking permission from the board to build the waste-to-energy incinerator, which would handle 200,000 tonnes of waste a year and generate 16 megawatts of electricity, on a site at Carranstown near Duleek on the Meath-Louth border.

Yesterday a range of experts for Indaver Ireland told the hearing the plant was designed to comply with Irish, EU and international best practice. Emissions data from the proposed incinerator would be available "in real time" on the internet to demonstrate this compliance and a permanent community liaison group would be set up.

Stephen Hickey of ARC Consultants said the topography of the land meant that, in a line of sight from the top of the tumulus at Dowth, some three metres of the top of the 65-metre incinerator stack should be visible. However, because of the distance of 5.45km and the colouring of the stack, it would be imperceptible.

Mr Hickey added that neither the plant nor the stack would be visible from the archaeological complex of Newgrange, the site of the Battle of the Boyne, nor anywhere else within the Boyne Valley.

Addressing the likely traffic impact of the plant, Gareth Mitchell of consulting engineers Roughan & O'Donovan said he had examined the environmental impact assessment, visited the site and carried out internationally standardised computer analysis of the proposed arrangements, and was satisfied. "In my opinion the proposed facility will not result in any significant impacts on the surrounding road network," he said.

Conor Jones, a chemical engineer who is engineering manager with Indaver Ireland, told the hearing that concern had been expressed that should the plant be limited in its electricity supply to the national grid, the plant would not be able to operate at capacity. This was not the case, he said, as the turbines could simply be bypassed. Mr Jones described how ash would be taken away by sealed lorries reversing into the plant to prevent the ash escaping. He also described how flue gases would be cleaned before being discharged to the atmosphere.

Patricia McGrath, compliance manager with the company, said the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) sets limits for emissions and the design of the facility would be within these parameters. She said these would be constantly monitored by the EPA, with results displayed on the internet.