BBC News Online: UK: Northern Ireland

Shock costs of storing BSE cull meat

The cull of 30-month-old cattle will continue for a number of years to ensure meat contaminated with BSE cannot reach the market place.

The carcasses are being reduced to meat and bone meal, and under government guidelines the bonemeal should be burnt.

Similar material from the cull in England has started to be incinerated.

But Northern Ireland has no suitable incineration facility, and instead of being burnt, the rendered material is piling up into mountains at a rate of 250 tons per week.

It is currently being stored in four warehouses across Northern Ireland in Mallusk, Newtownstewart, Castledawson and Maghaberry.

The Livestock and Meat Commission said they are not concerned about storing the material as each warehouse is air-sealed and regularly inspected in line with health and safety regulations.

John Wilson from the commission said: ''We're not worried about safety. It's a very stable product. There isn't any noxious odours or effluent. It's a very dry and stable product. We are monitoring it on a regular basis.''

But SDLP Environment spokesman Eddie McGrady MP said he realised that the siting of an incinerator would be unpopular with local residents, but that the problem must be addressed quickly.

He said: ''It requires incineration at a minimum of 1000 degrees centigrade, but we don't have that facility in NI and it is an unpleasant facility. It would be very difficult to site. There would be rejected by most communities but we have a problem and we have to address it.

''In the meantime the costs are mounting which I find rather short sighted because we are going have to take it out of storage and destroy it at some time.''

Plan to build incinerator

Glenfarm Holdings, the owners of a rendering plant in Glenavy, County Antrim, applied to build an incinerator on the site 18 months ago but immediately came up against local opposition.

Glenavy residents are hoping the Department of the Environment Planning Service will decide to hold a public inquiry.

Local resident David Gattrell said: ''Emissions don't just travel a few miles, they can actually travel up to 1000 miles from the incinerator.

Glenfarm Holdings commissioned a special environmental impact study before submitting its proposals for an incinerator at its rendering plant which incorporate an electricity generator.

Rather than being stored at the tax payers' expense they say the meat and bonemeal could be burned to produce valuable energy.

RPS Environmental Consultant Jeremy Jackson said: ''Incineration, which is far the most expensive method of disposing of the problem, was the best solution, rather than opting for landfill which would be a very simple way of disposing of it, but in the eyes of Europe it wouldn't have been the optimum solution.''

The decision about whether the incinerator can be built at this site or any other site, and whether a public inquiry should be held, rests with the Planning Service.

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