Incinerator cancer scare

Sean O'Hare

A CANCER researcher has warned of "disastrous health consequences" if controversial plans to build an incinerator in Buckinghamshire go ahead.
Margaret Rossiter B.Sc, from Hedgerley, a former bio-chemist and cancer researcher, believes she has found conclusive evidence to prove the products of incineration cause cancer and birth defects.
However, the scientist's claims have been dismissed by the council. They say the potential impact on the health of local residents is "extremely small".

Mrs Rossiter has called for a united front against County Council plans to build an incinerator in one of six potential sites across Buckinghamshire by 2012.
Referring to The Air Quality Statement for England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, issued by the Secretary of State for the Environment on July 17, 2007, Mrs Rossiter said: "On page 16, it is stated that both long and short term exposure to particulate matter (PM) is consistently associated with respiratory and cardiovascular illness and mortality as well as other ill health effects.
"It is also stated that it is not currently possible to discern a threshold concentration below which there is no effects on the whole population."
She said recent reviews by The World Health Organisation suggested exposure to a finer fraction of particles give a stronger association with the observed ill health effects.
and that no amount of 'scubbing' of flue gases removes these ultra fine particles.
Mrs Rossiter said: "The supremely worrying part about this is that flue emmision measurements in the UK are totally inadequate.
"Only in the Isle of White are proper stack top measurements taken, everywhere else relies on sampling test runs or industry generated estimates.
"Recent research has demonstrated that when proper 24-hour sampling is carried out, the values for emissions are 5-8 tims greater than test runs suggest.
"Coupled with the fact that micro particulate matter persists in the atmosphere for seven days means t