A report compiled by a consultant appointed by the owners of a cement silo in the south of Malta states that there is no guarantee that grain won’t end up being contaminated as a result of the silo which is just a few metres away from the Kordin Grain Terminal.

What makes the issue worrying is that it is the consultant who was appointed by the cement silo owners and not the grain terminal consultant who issued the warning. The consultant’s statement comes in the light of both Mepa and the Public Health Department’s assurance that contamination of grain is “extremely limited” and the grain is safe and “in line with EU requirements”.

On Monday, the House Committee for the Environment and Development planning – chaired by PL MP Marlene Farrugia – met to continue to discuss the issue of the KGT and the cement silo.

The consultant in question – Dr Ramiro Cali-Corleo – states in the report’s conclusions that “It is unlikely that this silo operation will be completely free from all fugitive cement emissions and so the possibility that the grain being handled nearby will be subject to a level of contamination from cement dust remains present even following the application of best practices.”

Emission monitoring reports issued by Mepa covering the months of December and January showed that the levels emitted from a cement silo are “much better than initially thought”, according to MEPA’s CEO Johann Buttigieg. Michael Sant - on behalf of Mepa – also said that equipment installed by Mepa to monitor emissions hardly registered that they were negligible, assuring that contamination of the grain is “extremely limited”.

Some 40 grain samples were also taken by experts working for the Public Health Department from a number of retail outlets and bakeries which also showed that the grain is safe and in line with EU requirements.

But the question which arose following both Mepa’s and the Public Health Department’s assurance is why risks are still being taken when there is no guarantee that the grain – which are small, hard, dry seeds harvested for human or animal consumption – will not end up being contaminated in future.

In early September 2013, Flimkien ghal Ambjent Ahjar brought to Mepa’s attention that a cement silo was being built without a relevant permit two metres away from KGT’s grain conveyor belt, and raised concerns regarding the health risks through contamination of grain by cement.

 

Although Mepa and the Public Health Department assured FAA’s Astrid Vella that monitoring reports will continue to be conducted, Ms Vella told this newsroom when asked for a reaction that the grain silo consultant’s words speak for themselves.