Poolbeg Incinerator Could Cost 100,000 man-years of life it its first 15 years

An Incinerator at Poolbeg could
cost 100,000 man-years of life
it its first 15 years (a).

An incinerator can be modelled as a deadly particles generator.

A 70 page PDF report from a credible medical society on the reduced life expectancy caused by incineration and deadly particles(b) is here so you make your own judgments.

Pollution in east Dublin already exceeds the compromised EU standards and is significantly above the more protective US air quality standards. The Bord Pleanala Inspector's report noted the compromised level of air pollution in Poolbeg is already at or above the EU norms but his actions will have been dictated by the politically appointed directors at Bord Pleanala.

The submission to the EPA Oral Hearing by a member of the St Patrick's rowing club in Ringsend illustrates concerns on cancer, ill health and premature deaths in a polluted environment. DCC refuses to run a Baseline Health Study for the area and cynically washes its hands by referring all such requests to the less than inspiring Health Service Executive (where nobody washes hands). The EPA Oral Hearing apparently accepted this Big Lie manouver.

The EPA's directors are political appointees of Fianna Fail - at the EPA it would appear the gamekeepers have turned into poachers, and vice versa. Is the politically dominated EPA any more credible than the Developer's Anglo-Irish Bank, the Dublin Developer's Autocracy (DDDA) or the Developer's Irish Financial Regulator?

In addition to invisible microscopic particles an incinerator in Dublin Bay would pump hundreds of thousands of tonnes of pollution into the air over Dublin each year. The total volume of waste is actually increased by waste-to-toxins incineration and is not reduced as claimed by industry Big Lies. For example, each tonne of waste generates an additional tonne of CO2. This CO2 is pumped up the chimney where it circles the world.

Big Lie Caution: Dublin City Council has spent €19,000,000 to promote its cynical one-sided case for an Incinerator at Poolbeg. DCC has used multiple Big Lies, including the Big Lie of selective witholding of data, it seems. For instance, DCC has apparently not publicly costed nor quantified the serious health impacts in terms of compromised health and premature deaths - apart from spin such as 'you can not prove that'. This is the Tobacco Industry Big Lie in practice.

The Cork Harbour Alliance for a Safe Environment (CHASE) has other useful information. The Green-Fianna-Fail government has penalised Corks' citizens by presenting CHASE with a legal bill of €50,000. Contrast this to the €19,000,000 of your money given to the public service patriots in developer-lead Dublin City Council. George Bush would say the DCC fokes are Fair & Balanced.

__________________________________________

June 2008 Estimates by British Society for Ecological Medicine using World Health Organisation Air Quality Guidelines
a) Based on a very conservative estimate of the level of increase that would be expected around large incinerators in a population of 250,000.

There is a reduction of life expectancy of 1.1 years for each 10μg per cubic metre increase in PM2.5 particulates

The US National Ambient Air Quality Standard for PM 2.5 particulates was introduced into the USA in 1997 with a mean annual limit of 15μg per cubic metre. This had measurable health benefits.

b) Deadly particles - see pages 15-16.

EU Wonders Were Poolbeg Incinerator Hearings a Sham?

The Green-FF government does not care the Poolbeg Incinerator hearings were a political sham - they themselves and their €200,000 pensions come first. To divert the public during the elections perhaps it'd be a great idea to issue a report on 60 years of child abuse wherein the judiciary allegedly frustrated police investigations and the Pope threatened President Bertie (Parish of Boston-not-Berlin, says hello).

Guess why Ireland is ranked worse than China and Ghana for legal corruption by the World Bank. Is Poolbeg a good location to research legal corruption?

The Poolbeg Incinerator Hearings at Board Pleanala and at EPA-Ireland were apparently decided by unseen politicians above the heads of the professionals in those organisations. The boards appear to be loaded with either incinerator-industry-insiders or political-crony appointees. A fewyears ago John Gormley condemned EPA's director but now he's in charge he has done nothing about her.

Good science and the public good appear to have been ignored by the bosses of the regulators. Political cronyism at the banks, the alleged financial regulators and the building-industry have near-bankrupted the economy. Political cronyism operating on or in the other alleged regulators, EPA and Bord Pleanala, combined with an offshore-based waste-to-toxins incineration industry may shorten lives by up to two years across Dublin.

In the following diplomatic language the EU Commission seems to say the Poolbeg Incinerator Hearings were a sham:

‘Because of weaknesses in Irish legislation
splitting decision-making between planning authorities
and the
Environmental Protection Agency,
there are risks that outcomes required by the
EU directive will not always be achieved.’

With elections coming up Green-FF is spinning that the offshore operators have no money. Covanta-Poolbeg is based in Luxembourg. There are lots of offshored-banks in Luxembourg, almost nothing else. And Covanta has lots of money.

______________

EU takes legal action over planned Poolbeg incinerator (19/3/09)

http://eurolinknews.com/2009/03/19/eu-takes-legal-action-over-planned-poolbeg-incinerator-19309/.

March 19, 2009 eurolinknews.com

The proposed waste incinerator at Poolbeg is the subject of fresh controversy this week after it emerged that the EU has lodged legal proceedings against the Irish government over its handling of incinerator projects. EU Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas has confirmed that Ireland was referred to the European Court of Justice in the last few weeks after it failed to respond to a final warning over alleged breaches of EU law. A statement issued by the Commission highlights concerns that all the environmental implications of the Poolbeg plant may not have been considered before it was approved in 2007. It reads, ‘Because of weaknesses in Irish legislation splitting decision-making between planning authorities and the Environmental Protection Agency, there are risks that outcomes required by the EU directive will not always be achieved.’

It’s the latest in a saga of legal controversy dogging the planned €266 thermal treatment facility, which has nonetheless managed to secure a licence to burn 600,000 tonnes of household waste a year. But this international case could be particularly embarrassing for Environment Minister John Gormley, who has previously been vocal in his opposition to Poolbeg. The Minister has come under fire from Dublin MEP Proinsias De Rossa for failing to respond to the EU’s written warning earlier. ‘This is yet another unnecessary, costly legal battle; it’s a sad state of affairs that Europe should have to take legal action against a Green Party Minister to ensure that all the implications of incineration are considered,’ he said.

http://eurolinknews.com/2009/03/19/eu-takes-legal-action-over-planned-poolbeg-incinerator-19309/

Green Party calls for removal of EPA director

http://greenparty.ie/en/news/news_archive
green_party_calls_for_removal_of_epa_director_due_to_unresolvable_conflict_of_interest
_________________

Green Party calls for removal of EPA director due to unresolvable conflict of interest

Issued: 27 August 2004

Green Party calls for removal of EPA director due to unresolvable conflict of interest

The Green Party has today [August 2004] called for the removal of Environmental Protection Agency director, Ms Laura Burke, due to an unresolvable conflict of interest.

Ms Burke was formerly project manager for Indaver Ireland's planned incinerators at Ringaskiddy, County Cork and Carranstown, County Meath.

'Green Party Leader Trevor Sargent TD said today that, Ms Burke's position is no longer tenable. The fact that Ms Burke will not be allowed to attend the EPA board meeting, which will decide on the Ringaskiddy incinerator, only highlights the ongoing conflict of interest created by her appointment to the EPA. Her role as director utterly compromises the position of the EPA as a body seen by the public as being independent and impartial.

Ms Burke clearly should not have been appointed and should not continue. Apart from her lack of credibility in environmental protection arising from her previous role as a promoter of incineration, she effectively denies a more suitable expert a place on the EPA board. As a result, we now have a weaker EPA and a more vulnerable environment.

Minister Cullen has made a series of appointments to the executive board of the EPA which show all too clearly that he sees the Agency as protecting the interests of business, with environmental protection being given a very low priority.

poolbeg incinerator

Bono Elevated To Galway Tent

"[Bono's destruction of listed buildings] undermines ... the basis of the city's attractiveness for tourists".

Bord Pleanala Inspector.
Before His Execution.

___________________________________________________________________

The Purple & The Pinstripe.
_________________
BANANA REPUBLIC
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aF_HSCmnFTA

The purple and the pinstripe
Mutely shake their heads

A silence shrieking volumes
A violence worse than they condemn

Stab you in the back yeah
Laughing in your face

Glad to see the place again
It's a pity nothing's changed
_____________

Four Seasons - The Ice Bar - Brickie Section.

Did you hear the honorable executive board of Bord Pleanala only enters The Clarence using the Revolving Doors? These days Billy Gates can't get a job 'cause the band ain't hiring. But as for friends of An Bord Pleanala'a executive board, the Revolving Doors are always open .... ?

This time the Clarence's bouncer tore off the head of the Bord Pleanala Inspector before he pissed down his neck. The little schijt had said His Holiness Bono and Monsignor The Edge would destroy Georgian Dublin with their hotel featuring Holiness Bono's halo up on the roof.

Holiness Bono is the true saint, not Geldof. Saint Bob with The Boomtown Rats only sang about The Banana Republic, and that was 1978. Bono & Co truly embody the spirit of The Banana Republic and are The Boomtown Rats. Bono's so 20th century, oh yeah. A modern girl yeah, ga-ga-ga-ga-ga.

BANANA REPUBLIC
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aF_HSCmnFTA

____________________________

Senior inspector's strong disapproval rejected [Extract]

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2008/0718/1216330999704.html [In Full]

FRANK McDONALD

AN BORD Pleanála approved plans to redevelop the Clarence Hotel in Dublin despite a strong recommendation by one of its senior planning inspectors that permission be refused because of its

• "uncompromising, ominous and overstated" impact on the Liffey Quays. ...

• "a significant loss of historic streetscape [ which] would undermine the integrity of the Liffey Quays conservation area".
• conceptually brilliant but contextually illiterate
• sets an "undesirable precedent" for the demolition of protected structures generally.

_______________

Billionaires' Horses Better Than Ringsend Knackers

Billionaires' Horses Are Better Than Ringsend's Knackers

Obviously Billionaires' Tipperary horses are more valuable than wife-beating Ringsend knackers.

Tiny Tipp Incinerator beside a few Billionaires’ Horses: Not Approved.
Huge Waste-To-Toxins Incinerator beside one million People: Approved.

___________

Executive Board of An Bord Pleanala,
Four Seasons Bar.

Sean:
We've used the best-paid political scientists to pre-approve the Banana Republic's Biggest incinerator smack bang in the centre of a city with one million people. EPA-Ireland will supply the where-else-can-we-earn-a-crust-after-public-service professionals to "monitor" the toxins - they might show up just a few times a year with their jam jar.

The Galway Tent's horses are more valuable than those Ringsend knackers. Sure they are already sick from the local toxic dump and can't prove nothing because according to our PR, they all smoke!! And we killed the dangerous idea of a human-health baseline study in Ringsend. Especially in Legoland opposite the glass recycling factory where we fired 350 locals to make way for DDDA's empire!

Seamus:
Now then, how do we stop the small incinerator beside our Billionaires' stud farms?

John Gormley:
I can say nothing, in public.
In public, I am restricted by the legislation.
Even my secret meetings with Covanta are reported by The Indo.

John Gormley:
Am I in the tent? ... Please ... I'm not just a Little Green Man ... Please ...

Sean:
John, we'll get back to you. Now just feed our usual press release to the Irish Times section of The Galway Tent.

________________________

Irish Times Breaking News

Last Updated: Friday, July 11, 2008, 15:41

The decision to refuse planning permission for a waste facility plant (waste-to-toxins incinerator) in Co Tipperary has been welcomed by the country’s leading racehorse trainer Aidan O’Brien.

...

Tipperary South TD Tom Hayes also welcomed the decision saying the plant would have been totally unsuitable for the area due to its scale and potential damage to the local equine, agricultural and tourism sectors within the region.

Lawyers for John Magnier’s Coolmore group had argued that the site was "wholly unsuitable", and insisted that the facility "would be prejudicial to human and animal health".

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/breaking/2008/0711/breaking54.htm
© 2008 irishtimes.com

Once officials, Now consultants

Once Officials, Now Consultants

http://archives.tcm.ie/businesspost/2003/12/07/story257079427.asp

Unlike the United States, Britain and Canada, the Republic has no regulations governing the movement of state officials to consultancy positions in the private sector. [Sunday, December 07, 2003].

• Kevin McDonnell, a former Dublin inspector with the EPA, works as adviser to Ray Stokes, the Dublin businessman who recently bought a dump at Whitestown in west Co Wicklow. McDonnell's company, Agritech Solutions, based in Dublin, is carrying out the work.

• Ted Nealon, another former EPA inspector,works for Dean Waste Co, which trades as A1 Waste, the waste company owned and controlled by Dublin businessmanTony Dean.

• Hubert Fitzpatrick, a former assistant manager of Wicklow County Council, was a consultant to A&L Goodbody solicitors. He works for the Construction Industry Federation.

• Frank Kavanagh, former county manager with South Dublin County Council, works as a planning consultant to multimillionaire property developer Jim Mansfield.

• Ciaran Ryan, formerly of Fingal County Council, runs a planning consultancy in Dublin with Mark Walsh, former deputy county manager and director of planning in Fingal County Council.

• Willie Murray, a former planning official in Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council, has been working for the Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown Light Rail Company, a private consortium backing a Luas extension from Sandyford to Cherrywood in south Co Dublin.

• Donough Murphy, who was a board member of An Bord Pleanala from 1989 to 1999, is an architect and planning consultant. He now works for property company Treasury Holdings.
  

• Jim Barrett, recently retired Dublin City Architect
• Jim Barrett gave evidence as part of Developer's project team (Dunne/Ballsbridge, 2008).

Titanic and Public Servants

Captain Maurice Henry Clarke, the inspector who cleared the Titanic for sailing, being examined:

"Did you think your system was satisfactory before the Titanic disaster?"
"No, sir."

"Then why did you do it?"
"Because it was the custom."

"Do you follow a custom because it is bad?"
"Well, I am a civil servant sir, and custom guides us a good bit."

Source: “The Titanic Disaster: An Enduring Example of Money Management vs. Risk Management”
http://www.cuug.ab.ca/~branderr/risk_essay/titanic.html

Revolving Doors At EPA, ABP, Indaver, RPS: Dublin Bay Incinerator.

Brown envelopes are not needed. Just provide "career opportunities" to the public servants. Have a nice day.

Who Needs Brown Envelopes?

------------------------------
Covanta Employs Ex-EPA Employee
Monday April 7, 2008Gilman's newly created role as chief sustainability officer is effective Monday. He has also been named a senior vice president of the waste and energy services company.

Gilman served as assistant administrator for research and development at the Environmental Protection Agency.

He has also held positions at the National Academy of Sciences, the Energy Department and the White House Office of Management and Budget.

http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/080407/covanta_energy_personnel.html?.v=1