Portugual to Burn Industrial Waste in Nature Reserve

LISBON, Portugal, April 11, 2001 (ENS) - The Portuguese environment ministry yesterday formally approved plans for two cement kilns to burn industrial waste as fuel following four years of scientific investigation and public debate.

The government hopes the move will help reduce a national stockpile of hazardous industrial waste, principally waste oils and solvents.

The two plants, at Outaõ in the Arrábida Nature Reserve and at Souselas near the city of Coimbra, are due to begin coincinerating waste in June.

Arrábida coast, Portugal (Photo courtesy Pedro Cardoso)

Defending his decision, Environment Minister Jose Socrates said, "the long process of public consultation has not produced any arguments to alter the original decision."

He pledged that "any waste that can be broken down, reused or recycled will not be burned" and announced imminent construction of a provisional hazardous waste collection and pre-treatment plant.

Left and right-wing opposition parties have attacked the move. Jose Eduardo Martins of the right of center Social Democrat Party (PSD) criticised the government for "pressing ahead with coincineration without conducting prior health tests on the local population."

Luís Fazenda of the Left Bloc (BE) objected to the "lack of effective measures to reduce and control the production of hazardous waste."

Rui Berkemeier of the environmental NGO Quercus said coincineration should be a "last resort" for the disposal of hazardous waste and insisted that the government adopt measures to prevent abuses by waste producers.

Last December, the independent scientific commission of six medical experts appointed by the Portuguese parliament said that "coincineration does not pose extra health risks" and "helps reduce the risks associated with the uncontrolled burning of toxic waste."

One member of the committee dissented from the majority opinion. Salvador Massano, professor of medicine at Coimbra University, said, "So many doubts still exist that it is very difficult to come down in favour of coincineration."

Picking up on this theme, Manuela Cunha, parliamentary representative of the Green Party, said that "when the scientific community is divided on an issue the guiding principle should be precaution." She also raised doubts about how effectively the makeup of toxic wastes to be coincinerated would be controlled.

{Published in cooperation with ENDS Environment Daily, Europe's choice for environmental news. Environmental Data Services Ltd, London. Email: envdaily@ends.co.uk}