Incinerator inquiry: Fears over impact on unborn babies of plume from waste burner debunked

Children and unborn babies living near the chimney plume of a proposed huge waste incinerator will not be at risk, according to an expert witness for the developer.

Appearing for Amey, engineer Stephen Othen told an inquiry yesterday (Tuesday) that he did not believe the emissions from the plant would be harmful.

Residents in villages surrounding the proposed energy from waste incinerator in Waterbeach have raised concerns that fumes coming from the 80-metre high chimney could pose a risk to human health.

Waste contractor Amey is appealing against the county council’s decision to refuse approval for the energy-from-waste facility on Levitt’s Field, at Waterbeach Waste Management Park, off Ely Road.

It would be taller than Ely Cathedral and would treat up to 250,000 tonnes of waste per year, including rubbish from 11 counties.

At Tuesday’s public inquiry session, Mr Othen, of Fichtner Consulting Engineers, answered questions about the safety of the incinerator.

Jude Sutton, a resident of Waterbeach, had informed the inquiry of a study that showed ultrafine black carbon particles could transfer to unborn babies across the placenta.

However, Mr Othen said that in this study “ambient concentrations” of black carbon particles in the areas where these women were living were “many times higher” than those predicted for the site around the waterbeach incinerator.

Ms Sutton also raised concerns over a study which showed babies born within 10km of a waste incinerator were more likely to suffer certain birth defects.

Mr Othen replied that the cause could not be proved to be the waste incinerators.

He quoted researchers, who said: “The study does not say that the small excess risks associated with congenital heart disease and genital anomalies in proximity to MWIs (waste incinerators) are caused by those MWIs.”

So he added: “I do not agree that the WWRP could be linked with any increase in congenital heart defects or hypospadias.”

The headteacher of Shirley Primary School, John Cattermole, had also written to the inquiry to express his fears about plans for new schools in the proposed Waterbeach new town being close to the waste incinerator.

However, Mr Othen said the effect on children could be “described as negligible” as the concentration of nitrogen dioxide in the air around the school was predicted to be just 0.7 per cent of the air quality objectives.

He said exposure to cadmium was predicted to be two per cent of the air quality assessment level at most.

He added that “even this prediction will overstate the impact on primary schoolchildren” as children do not spend their whole time at school.

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