Air, soil and water

Since the last State of the Environment report there have been no indications that industrial or hazardous wastes are decreasing. On the other hand, the figure for generation of municipal solid waste per inhabitant has climbed by over 50 per cent, partly due to a wider definition of what makes up domestic waste.

The report makes a strong pronouncement over the "pitifully small" number of court cases for illegal tipping, adding that the penalties imposed on the polluter are rarely high enough to deter further tipping.

The chapter on air quality reports progress has been made on air quality monitoring. A surprising result has been a recording of sulphur dioxide levels at Marsalforn which exceed World Health Organisation safety limits at the highest recorded in the islands. While high levels in Paola-Fgura-Zabbar and Floriana-Marsa may be put down to traffic and the power station it must be noted that the far shore of Gozo lies downwind of the oil refineries in Sicily.

It is pointed out that occurrence of excessive levels at Marsa warrant the installation of "a permanent real-time sensor for sulphur dioxide in this locality to broadcast alerts using radio and television, giving advice to citizens on how to take evasive measures." While the past four years have seen a slight decrease in emissions of sulphur dioxide we need to see considerable reductions at the power stations to meet international obligations.

Hamrun and Sliema are highest in nitrogen dioxide concentrations with Floriana exceeding both at levels beyond the safety limit. This pollutant affects the respiratory tract in humans and animals and can increase the risk of infection. In view of the serious concern about the toxic effects of this gas Europe now has a limit for an hourly average.

While readings taken at Qormi have risen above the alert threshold for short periods it was not long enough to qualify as being excessively high. Seventy-eight per cent of tested sites exceed WHO limits for cancer-causing benzene. This confirms "a rather alarming picture of air quality with regards to this extremely noxious compound". Benzene levels here are among the worst in Europe. The advice is that the fitting of catalytic converters on vehicles must be made mandatory.

Noise and smells from heavy traffic and the power plant also have a health impact. Residents living along the main roads of Floriana, Birkirkara, Cospicua, Gzira and Mosta are exposed for up to two hours a day to noise levels of 65 decibels considered to be detrimental to health.

Complaints of bad odours in the Marsa area continue and are suspected to be caused by fuel transfer operations at the Marsa power station from ship to shore. During the period of review children from a Marsa school had to be evacuated on a number of occasions due to anxiety and distress caused by smells from the harbour.

It was found that petrol pump operators could easily be inhaling life-threatening quantities of volatile organic compounds and the amount of hydrocarbons escaping into the environment from unburnt fuel in car exhausts goes unrecorded. The authors of the energy chapter take Enemalta to task once again:

"Enemalta does not publish figures of fuel loss from storage tanks as seems to be occurring at Wied Dalam." While data availability has improved markedly compared to the last State of the Environment Report, more information is needed on imported solar water heaters, air conditioners and energy efficiency programmes in industry. The detailed impact of the local wind resource on the existing grid has yet to be worked out. This would be useful in setting the price a wind generator could charge the main energy supplier for the electrical energy it produces.

Following international obligations to protect the ozone layer has resulted in a reduction of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs). While the trend for the amount of CFCs imported decreased, that for HCFCs has risen substantially. Hydrochlorofluorocarbons are less damaging than CFCs but still have a depleting effect on the ozone layer and must eventually be phased out.

Quality of sea water

Bathing water quality has been lowest in the St Paul's Bay area and in Sliema. The report notes with surprise that over the past four years bathing was never prohibited at Xghajra despite a persistent low rating in water quality since 1998. High levels of toxic heavy metals which were found in limpets and fish at Xghajra are confirmed by a more recent study. Coastal sewage pumping stations are identified as the main culprits and better maintenance through more frequent consultations between the Departments of Public Health and Drainage is recommended. The environmental quality of the waters at Anchor Bay, Wied Mielah and San Blas has not yet been investigated.

While no proper records are kept for the Wied Ghammieq sewage outfall the engineers estimate that the pumping station fails three or four times a year due to power outages, ageing components, equipment breakdown, insufficient funding and wilful damage. The underwater pipe has been ruptured for at least three years and the report urges the authorities to stop the practice of fishing from boats amidst the raw sewage, a direct hazard to the fishermen and anyone eating fish or shellfish collected from the area.

Oil spills from tankers passing through the Sicily channel sometimes wash up on the shores of Qbajjar in northern Gozo. The section covering oil pollution also mentions the problem of underground oil leakage at Birzebbuga where "Enemalta has never admitted that its tanks are responsible for this problem". While the tanks are being refurbished and underground oil is to be extracted the storage facility is to close down by 2010.

The removal of water from fuel oil during storage produces a waste water stream from the two power stations which is insufficiently treated to be safe enough for discharge into the marine environment. The waste water contains unknown amounts of heavy metals and other additives. The report dishes out another scolding to Enemalta for failure to carry out an environmental audit to assess and try to reduce the impacts of this pollution continuously pouring into the sea.

While a few local industries (including a food processing company and the Comino Hotel) have been found to be discharging their waste waters directly into the sea most use the public sewer while failing to comply with official controls. The low level of compliance suggests as the report hints that a range of hazardous chemicals are reaching the sewers from industrial sources. Organotins, hydrocarbons (from petroleum) and some organic solvents have been identified among other contaminants.

No court cases, fines or withdrawal of permits have resulted but the period of grace allowing trade premises to come in line will come to an end in 2003. The Malta Development Corporation is offering soft loans to encourage local industries to improve their environmental performance. At the same time Government's plans to deal with stormwater must be finalised to deal with overflows.

The dockyard poses a problem where untreated waste water (not including sewage) is being discharged into French Creek. Malta Drydocks claims it has been carrying out an environmental audit of its activities since 1998 yet the results were not available for the report. Attempts to get information on discharges from Marsa Shipbuilding and the Freeport met with a similar tight-lipped countenance. Up until last year desalination plants were still flushing their systems with formaldehyde until they were told to stop.

Sant'Antnin waste water treatment plant is currently discharging a large amount of contaminated sludge into the sea. With more sewage treatment plants due to come on line will produce even more sludge. If nothing is done to reduce levels of hazardous chemicals in sewage it will not be suitable for use in agriculture and still be too toxic to throw into the sea.

Even high quality sludge would increase the nitrate input to aquifers making our borehole water sub-standard if used extensively in agriculture. The report speaks of the urgent need to invest in treatment facilities for sludge without specifying whether this might be incineration or a friendlier technology such as plasma waste conversion.

The quality of compost, at times so low that it can only be classified as biowaste, has improved slightly with a reduction in toxic heavy metals. Bringing it up to the required standard for use in agriculture will require separate collection of kitchen waste from non-compostable waste such as plastic, tins and glass.

Agriculture

After reading this summer about the plight of waterless farmers in Mellieha the spectre of a "How green was my Gozo" scenario leaps off the page:

"There are various signs to suggest that salinisation of the aquifer in Gozo is particularly significant and the uncontrolled use of borehole waters for irrigation may be leading to an unsustainable increase in soil salinity with a likely reduction in agricultural productivity."

The report states that a general assessment of the situation is urgently required. Efficient allocation of water resources is a major priority. The report also concedes that unsustainable water consumption patterns need to be considered without giving specific examples.

Production of fruit and vegetables has dropped to around three-quarters of what it was four years ago. The total quantity of pesticides imported surged in 1998 to nearly half a million kilos. Since then pesticides appear to be on the decrease although nowhere near the 1996 levels of around a quarter million kilos. Rainwater washes some of the applied pesticide into the sea. In the western region of Malta it has been calculated that 1,200 kilos of agri-chemicals are washed into the sea each year.

In some cases incorrect irrigation is actually killing off agricultural land. The quality of soil is negatively effected. Tests have shown that fields in the area close to the sewage treatment plant which were watered with treated but sub-standard effluent are higher in salinity.

A classification system is now being drawn up with a view toward safeguarding agricultural land from permanent loss and to prevent the reclamation of garigue into poor quality farm land when good quality land is being sacrificed for speculative development projects.

Nuclear disasters

A new addition to the report is the chapter on natural and technological risks. While great improvements in civil protection and occupational safety have been made this chapter acknowledges that the general public needs to be further educated and sensitised.

While natural events such as floods are a seasonal risk a growing awareness has come about over the potential and ever present danger of nuclear accidents.

Since 1945 some 50 nuclear weapons have been lost and remain lost at sea. The ill-fated nuclear powered Kursk submarine sank in relatively shallow waters and was recovered to prevent the eventual release of radiation by corrosion. As the report points out the Mediterranean seabed is riddled with deep trenches and a similar recovery operation might not be possible states the report.

Barring accidents, the highest levels of radiation seen in Malta were probably during the dirty years of the Marsa power station when the use of coal as a fuel released uranium and thorium. Fly ash dumped at Benghajsa blew about on windy days until covered by material from Freeport excavations. The ash is chemically active and also weakly radioactive but unless inhaled or coming into contact with the eyes, poses no significant danger to health. Its radioactivity has led to its rejection as an additive to concrete mixes.

A practical recommendation is for the improved monitoring of waste disposal practices to minimise dispersal of radioactive material into the environment. Since Chernobyl the Health Department checks food for radioactive contamination.

Little progress has been registered since the last report on institutional preparedness for a major oil spill. "Matters may be expected to improve only when the National Marine Pollution Contingency Plan comes into force through a cabinet decision or act in Parliament. The level of threat to our coastline should be sufficient to overcome any bottleneck and proceed with commitment in this matter of national importance."

Enforcement together with education must form the bridge that will lead us to a more sustainable world. The National Environmental Education Strategy has prepared a list of guidelines for promotion of sustainable lifestyles to be issued shortly.

Availability of the State of the Environment report to the public is enshrined in last year's revision of the Environment Protection Act which established the right to information to members of the public who request it from Government institutions.

Five liri is a fair price to pay for nearly 600 pages of information available on CD from the Malta Environment and Planning Authority. It is also available for viewing on the website of the Ministry for Home Affairs and Environment. Armed with this information we may be better prepared to pay the price for a healthy environment and insist that others do the same to create a nation and a world that can continue to sustain us.