Reference is made to Leo Brincat’s article entitled “Black dust saga further tarnishes Mepa’s credibility” (TMIS, 2 September).

Mr Brincat states that the Parliamentary Committee on Black Dust Precipitation was recently told that “no specific follow-up meetings had been held between Mepa and Enemalta” regarding Professor Alfred Vella’s report. Mr Brincat, who is a member of this Committee and was present at the meeting in question, specifically fails to mention that, at the same meeting, Mepa handed the committee correspondence clearly demonstrating that follow-up on the subject did actually take place.

Furthermore, Mr Brincat appears to have misunderstood the different testing methodologies indicated in the reports. When Mepa stated that not enough samples could be collected, this referred specifically to the sample quantities required for ‘wet chemical’ analysis, which was not a methodology used in the Vella study.

Mr Brincat also misunderstood Mepa’s position on the issue. Prior to the conclusions of the Vella study, Mepa had stated that it could definitively exclude ship maintenance activities, diesel engines and the mobile incinerator; however, it did not exclude the Marsa Power Station.

It is important to distinguish between the coarse, porous, spherical particles which were responsible for the dust soiling episodes in August 2007 and July-August 2009 and other black dusts, which can also be sampled from the area in question as well as from all over Malta and Gozo, and which are due to other sources including traffic.

Mepa expects Mr Brincat to ensure that his comments on this subject are factual and based on evidence.

Peter Gingell

Communications & PR Manager

Malta Environment & Planning Authority