San Ġwann and Iklin residents have raised fresh complaints about a toxic smell of tarmac that infiltrates closed windows at night from a nearby asphalt plant. 

Complaints and calls for action amid concerns over air quality have been made on and off for three years, but they have fallen on deaf ears, residents said. Matters appeared to have got worse in the past few days, with complaints made from residents of a wider area. 

With no action having apparently been taken by the Environment and Resources Authority (ERA), some of the residents said they have also written  to the Ombudsman, urging his office to look into the matter.

Commenting on social media, residents of San Ġwann, Iklin and also Birkirkara complained about the “suffocating stench of tarmac”, which they claim is coming from the Bitmac asphalt plant in Tal-Balal Road.

San Ġwann resident Ruth Mercieca, who lives close by, vented her frustration on the San Ġwann Residents’ Facebook group where she said the matter has been dragging on for three years.

“The smell and toxic fumes that many were complaining about this morning are coming from the Bitmac asphalt plant,” she wrote on Sunday.

“Last night, and until the early hours of the morning, there was a whole procession of trucks unloading hot asphalt and emitting bitumen fumes. These noxious fumes and the chemicals released in the air by bitumen pose serious health concerns: they lead to serious respiratory problems and are known to cause cancer.  This has been going on for a number of years and the authorities are fully aware of the situation but do nothing about it because the Bitmac owners have strong political ties,” Mercieca wrote.

Residents claim fumes emitted from hot asphalt and chemicals released in the air by bitumen pose serious health concerns. Photo: Shutterstock.com

‘Your nostrils burn and eyes starts watering’

Speaking to Times of Malta, she said residents had noticed the stench, on average, once a week for about three years.

“You feel like you can’t breathe. Your nostrils burn and your eyes start watering. The smell comes in through closed windows at night,” she said.

She said ERA told residents the fumes are emitted when the heated liquid tar is poured and transferred from a tanker, on arrival at the plant. Residents were also told “to put up with it because it only happens once every blue moon”.

“This is not true because the smells have become a regular occurrence during summers,” she said.

Meanwhile, Iklin mayor Dorian Sciberras wrote on Facebook: “The suffocating stench of tarmac has filled Iklin for about two days and this has happened repeatedly for a number of years… ERA is shrugging off responsibility to take action despite the complaints of local councils and residents.”

He said the council had been complaining since 2020 and ERA kept changing versions – first saying it was monitoring, then that it has no authority.

“One of the issues is that there is no framework to regulate this form of activity. This is not just about the toxicity but about strong, unbearable stenches that do not allow you to keep living your life. We need replies,” he said.

Residents also shared photos and a video of the fumes visibly emitted by the plant over the summer.

Very strong… The smell is disgusting

Over the weekend, the smell was also sensed in Birkirkara, with one resident questioning a smell of “crude oil”.

One resident replied: “It is the tarmac plant. The government does not give a s#%t about the residents as this has been going on for years without any action despite reports of health issues.”

Another said: “This smell is only during certain hours at night. And only in some parts. Very strong… The smell is disgusting.”

Questions sent to ERA, EHD and Bitmac were not answered by the time of writing.

Health Minister Chris Fearne said in reply to a parliamentary question on Tuesday that the Environmental Health Directorate was investigating complaints about the smell and air quality and action would be taken if a health hazard resulted. 

According to the Bitmac website, the installation of a new Benninghoven asphalt plant in 2018 allowed the company to increase its capacity to produce up to 350 tons of hot asphalt per hour.

“With the addition and installation of a hot bin that was connected to the plant in 2020, we made the production process more efficient and more environmentally friendly by consuming less electricity and releasing significantly less emissions,” according to the website. 

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