The truth about the Scott Wilson Report

With reference to Anne Zammit's article (The Sunday Times, February 27) about what she calls the real Scott Wilson report, WasteServ would like to confirm that there was never any attempt to conceal the truth about the report nor was there any delay in publishing the report. Neither did we have to wait for EU membership, as Ms Zammit puts it.

The straightforward answer is that the study had to be published as a whole since the people deserve to know what the problems and proposed solutions are. Publishing the report in sections would have been unjust, especially to those affected due to the inevitable misinterpretations.

Now that it has been published, WasteServ is doing its utmost to ensure that the report is accessible. Contrary to what Ms Zammit implies, no efforts have been spared to ensure that copies of the report are accessible to all. A full copy of the report was given free of charge to the Maghtab residents and Ms Zammit was also given the opportunity to view the full version at WasteServ's offices. Furthermore a synopsis of the report containing the main findings is available free of charge online on the WasteServ Website and that of the Ministry of Rural Affairs and the Environment.

Ms Zammit interprets bits and pieces from the report and confuses samples taken on site with those taken off site. This does little justice to the time allocated to formulate a solution to minimise impacts immediately.

Ms Zammit's allegation that "the soil contains asbestos" creates unwarranted alarm. Asbestos was not identified in waste materials on the landfills or in soils on adjacent land. However, it has been assumed that there will be asbestos within the waste mass and therefore precautions have been taken in the way wastes are to be moved during the aerial emissions control works.

Arsenic has not been detected in any of the boreholes. An elevated concentration of arsenic was identified in a small quantity of condensate collected from one well within the waste mass. This liquid is considered to arise as a result of condensation of some of the warmer fluids within the waste and is considered to be indicative of 'leachate' if any of this was to develop within the waste.

Contrary to what Ms Zammit's article implies, the levels of heavy metals in the water boreholes off-site are well within the EU limits for drinking water. Yet, it must be emphasised that the water in the vicinity of the site lies outside the water protection zone and is therefore not abstracted for drinking.

The levels of iron and manganese detected show no link to the presence of the uncontrolled landfill as both metals are widely used in agriculture. Nevertheless, the levels detected have no significant health implications.

The statement also makes no reference to the fact that the levels of heavy metals in the surrounding sea were found to be very low. The only major contaminants in the borehole water were sodium and chloride both of which are likely to be seeping into the water table from the sea. The levels of cadmium, chromium, mercury and nickel in the surrounding boreholes as well as in the sea adjacent to Maghtab are well below the EU limits for drinking water.

In the report, elevated concentrations of certain heavy metals in waste materials within the core of the uncontrolled landfills have been identified. This is to be expected of certain waste types. However, there is no evidence of significantly elevated concentrations of these contaminants in the surface materials covering the waste. Levels above the average concentration of lead and phenols on agricultural land around the Maltese Islands have been recorded in some soils around the Maghtab dump but not at levels that substantially exceed Maltese background levels.

The methane, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide and hydrogen sulphide have been monitored for the past 18 months and concentrations have remained stable since the work conducted by Scott Wilson. Additionally, monitoring of dioxins, PAHs and heavy metals in ambient air has been initiated as recommended by the Scott Wilson report.

Methane is only being produced in small quantities at Maghtab. It is not a toxic gas but is a potential explosive hazard if allowed to build up in confined areas. Volatile Organic Compounds (including benzene) concentrations in certain locations on site do exceed recognised exposure limits.

For this reason, a health and safety procedure has been devised for those working on site. Modelling indicates that these compounds do not pose a risk off-site. Certainly, the possible contribution from Maghtab would be far less than that from other sources of pollution, such as traffic.

Dioxins were detected in soils at levels higher than the Maltese average concentrations (61ng/kg 1-TE compared to the background level of <0.01ng/kg 1-TE) but nevertheless within EU levels normal for agricultural soils (0-100ng/kg 1-TE). These concentrations are likely to be as a result of airborne emissions and deposition, and are likely to accumulate further unless there is prompt intervention to reduce aerial emissions.

Contrary to what the article states, there are no EU limits set for aerial concentrations of dioxins. However, the likely concentrations of dioxins in the air and near the site are of concern as uncontrolled emissions will lead to environmental accumulation and eventually entry into the food chain at levels of concern.

Without more detailed analysis of dietary dioxin intake it is not possible to determine the full human intake of dioxin. However, the assessment indicates that emissions from Maghtab need intervention. It must be emphasized that the risk of this dioxin finding its way into the food chain at the present time is drastically reduced, given the low levels detected to date in the soil. Furthermore, grazing of dairy and meat herds is not a common practice in Malta.

This further reduces the rate of entry of dioxin into the food chain. The EU recommends that herds reared in areas subject to environmental contamination are not allowed to graze, are kept in limited areas and fed predominantly with fodder originating outside the affected area. These practices are typical of Maltese animal husbandry.

However, more importantly, all three sites have been closed once and for all and no more fuel is being added the waste masses. Furthermore an €8.4 million investment has been secured by WasteServ from the EU to mitigate the impacts that this report identifies. Ms Zammit fails to make any reference to this fact and that finally a substantial investment is being made to avoid further deterioration.

WasteServ has taken the bull by the horns and is addressing the problems associated with Malta's largest environmental hazard.

Dr Ciantar is head of strategy and development at WasteServ.