The Maghtab X-ray

I refer to the letter from the Director of Information (July 8).

Firstly, I would like to clarify that my article of July 2 never referred to the use of electromagnetic waves for the proposed "X-ray" of Maghtab landfill, as the Director of Information tries to imply.

When Dr Zammit Dimech coined the term "X-ray of Maghtab", it was understood by all as only a metaphorical expression for a subsurface investigation of the landfill, with no connection to the actual medical procedure.

The Director of Information should not try to derail arguments or misinform the public as Dr Zammit Dimech has recently done during a seminar about the rehabilitation of local landfills. The minister made a speech in which he clearly stated that the Maghtab landfill will be rehabilitated following the commissioning of a scientific profile (or, metaphorically, an X-ray) to be carried out by a British company. This "X-ray" will supposedly reveal what lies buried in the Maghtab landfill and locate hazardous waste within it.

Dr Zammit Dimech's statement on the benefits of such an "X-ray" were later contradicted by the spokesman for this British company during the same seminar when he unequivocally stated that it is not possible to know where the hazardous waste is located within the landfill. Clearly, the minister was misinforming the public.

To add insult to injury, Dr Zammit Dimech confirmed that once the areas of hazardous waste were located (an impossible endeavour according to the consultants), the remaining areas with presumed inert waste can be excavated and used in public projects. Such an irresponsible proposal can have unthinkable consequences on present and future generations and the environment, because it would imply that contaminated waste from Maghtab will end up in public projects, increasing public health risks from exposure to the dangers of hazardous waste.

The EU directives (and US regulations) insist on the containment of hazardous waste and firmly oppose the spread of contaminated solid waste, as contemplated by Dr Zammit Dimech. The EU also disapproves the notion of diluting hazardous waste with inert waste as currently practised in Maghtab (a malpractice confirmed by NGOs present at the seminar).

It should therefore not come as a surprise to anyone that the EU will not be subsidising Dr Zammit Dimech's incredible "X-ray" of Maghtab landfill, let alone eventually fund its costly rehabilitation because it can never fund projects that breach its own directives! Ultimately, the quarter of a million liri of taxpayers' money to be wasted on the British consultants to produce just another report will only serve to cover up for the government's incompetence.