Community concerns frequently asked questions

• Will radioactive material be incinerated?
• Could a plant contribute to the fog in the Tamar Valley, making it worse? And if the air is still, how would the emissions disperse?
• I suffer from heart disease/asthma. Could the energy from waste process make my condition worse?
• Why do you want to consider building on a site that is located at the most westerly point of the county?

Will radioactive material be incinerated?

There is no intention to incinerate radioactive material within any facility provided for the South West Devon Waste Partnership. However, there may inadvertently be household waste containing some very low level radioactive materials, for example, fluorescent materials, smoke detectors. Our bidders have formally confirmed that no radioactive waste will be processed through the facility by their third party commercial waste contracts. To ensure this position remains in place the contract will reflect this.

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Could a plant contribute to the fog in the Tamar Valley, making it worse? And if the air is still, how would the emissions disperse?

The stack height would be designed specifically for the location and is likely to be around 90 metres above the ground.

Cleaned flue gases would be emitted from the stack at approximately 130 degrees C, and at a speed of about 15 metres per second – or 33.6 miles an hour. This combination of speed and heat means that the emissions will rise from the stack, effectively increasing the height of the emissions and improving the dispersion and dilution into the atmosphere.

If it is misty, then there will be little or no air movement, but this actually helps the emissions to rise even further, faster. Even if it were foggy or misty above the height of the stack, the speed at which the emissions leave means they can ‘punch’ through the foggy layer to reach the higher atmosphere and be dispersed properly.

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I suffer from heart disease/asthma. Could the energy from waste process make my condition worse?

No, the Health Protection Agency, which is the independent agency charged with looking after public health in England, and advises on all aspects of risks to health states in its latest report into municipal solid waste and incineration that:

"there is little evidence to suggest that incinerators are associated with increased prevalence of respiratory symptoms in the surrounding population."

It also goes on to say:

"Cancer, respiratory disease and birth defects were all considered, and no evidence was found for a link between the incidence of the disease and the current generation of incinerators."

And concludes:

"Epidemiological studies, and risk estimates based on estimated exposures, indicate that the emissions from such incinerators have little effect on health."

So, this means that whilst there may be a higher rate of cardiac and respiratory problems in some locations, they will not be made worse if a facility were to be developed in the area.

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Why do you want to consider building on a site that is located at the most westerly point of the county?

Most of the waste will be coming from Plymouth so it makes sense to transport it as little as possible.

The A38 is the main arterial road providing a clear route for transporting waste from Devon and Torbay.

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