Global Meat Supplier’s New Incinerator May Breach European Emissions Law

A gigantic incineration plant project could carry major environmental and health risks in rural Ireland

(17 October 2024, Paris) – Investigations published today by SourceMaterial and The Irish Times, based on documents obtained by Climate Whistleblowers (CW), reveal that Dawn Meats, one of Europe’s leaders in the meat industry, has begun the construction of an incinerator that could break European emissions regulations. The plant would emit more than the legal limit of sulphur dioxide (SO2), which can have significant consequences on the environment and the public, including respiratory illnesses, CW said today.

These documents show that Dawn Meats, whose most prominent clients include McDonald’s and Aldi, intends to incinerate animal by-products at its plant in Ballyhaunis, Ireland. According to the Irish Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), short-term exposures to SO2 can harm the human respiratory system and make breathing difficult. It could provoke irritation of the respiratory tract, and cardiovascular problems, as well as soil and water acidification in the area surrounding the plant and air pollution.

“Misleading emissions declarations aren’t just a corporate scandal — they’re a direct threat to global efforts against climate change,” said Laura Paquemar of Climate Whistleblowers. “Stronger oversight is critical to avoid disastrous consequences, both on human and environmental health.”

According to technical documents produced by Valfortec Power Plants (VPP), a Spanish energy company Dawn Meats contracted to supply technical material for the new plant, the incinerator would not comply with the European limit of 50 milligrammes per cubic metre on sulphur dioxide emissions, since it evaluated its predicted emissions at 80mg/Nm3

This runs contrary to documents the company submitted to the Irish EPA when it permitted the project. In these, Dawn Meats said the plant would only emit the legal 50mg/Nm3 of sulphur dioxide.

The investigation by SourceMaterial and CW led the EPA to reexamine the legislation, ​​“to ensure that the most appropriate legislative limits have been applied in this case”, their spokesperson said. If proven faulty, Dawn Meats’ licence could be revoked.

“No company seeking to violate EU regulations should feel at peace, especially when the EU legislation is the most ambitious and the best enforced”, said Anna Myers, Chair of CW and Executive Director of Whistleblowing International Network. “CW was created to help ensure the public is made fully aware of such wrongdoing and its impact.”

Meat and bonemeal (MBM), the animal by-product Dawn Meats intends to incinerate in Ballyhaunis, is derived from the processing of animal carcasses and is disposed of as waste. Formerly used to feed cattle, it is thought to be a factor in spreading the mad cow disease in the 1980s. Handling of this product is therefore strictly regulated by the European Union. A spokesman for Dawn Meats said: “The site already does and will continue to use the best available technologies to maintain compliance with its EPA licence and all applicable limits as determined by EU and Irish law.” 

Read the full articles here: SourceMaterial, Irish Times

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