LETTERS From A. J. Cawley, East Cowes:
IT was very disappointing Cowes Town Council has not objected to the re-submission of the application to build an asphalt plant on the river Medina.
It would seem this might be due to Cllr Roger Mazillius’s suggestion that previous objections were simply scaremongering, based on the fear of personal financial loss on property values.
One must assume Cowes town councillors are not as well informed on the health risks as their counterparts in East Cowes and other nearby parish councils, who have strongly objected to this very real threat.
There is a very large body of scientific evidence available, showing that small particle emissions (known as PM1 and PM2.5) from asphalt plants and biomass incinerators enter the lungs and carry toxic compounds into the bloodstream and even over the brain "blood barrier" to affect human health, not just with asthma and lung cancer but also, it is suggested, poor child development and behaviour and even infant deaths.
Cowes and East Cowes already have child asthma rates 36 per cent higher than the national average.
For those wishing to inform themselves on this, the list of websites below lead to authoritative information which can readily be understood.
One does not need any special expertise to judge whether this proposal constitutes a danger to the residents in the Cowes area and to suggest otherwise is patronising.
This plant threatens not only health but also jobs, (see John Gould’s objection on behalf of GKN, one of the Island’s largest employers).
The tourist industry, so vital for the Island, is also obviously threatened.
The second application for planning permission repeats the previous failure to recognise the existence of Cowes and East Cowes and nearby wards as potential "receptors" of dangerous emissions.
The noise section quotes a legal opinion in another case, which says we just have to accept whatever developers throw at us — and lump it! A masterclass in arrogance.
Island residents who care about the Island and future generations of Islanders should object now. The consultation period ends next Friday, September 20.
Suggested websites: 1. www.mole-valley.gov.uk/media/pdf/t/1/CAG_infant_deaths_report.pdf reports study on pollution effects on infant mortality; 2. wrapmedina.info provides updates on the asphalt plant application; 3. www.iwight.com allows on-line objections. Reference number TCP/30985.