AQW 10637/17-22

Mr John Blair
Alliance Party
South Antrim

Tabled Date: 19/11/2020
Answered On Date: 27/11/2020
Priority Written: No

Question:
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs, in light of recent media coverage, what steps his Department has taken to help prevent the occurrence of fire incidents at waste incinerator sites.

Answer:

Thank you for your question, my Department is unaware of any recent media coverage of fire incidents occurring at any waste incinerator site that the Department regulates.

The Industrial Pollution Radiochemical Inspectorate within NIEA current regulate three waste incinerators within Northern Ireland. As part of the compliance with their Pollution Prevention and Control permits the operator must demonstrate that they have made adequate provisions to reduce the risk of a fire at the waste incinerator site. This must include having adequate resources onsite such as a sprinkler system in the fuel hall and an onsite fire water tank which is appropriately sized to aid firefighting if such an incident was to occur. This is documented in their Fire Prevention Plan (FPP) and is submitted for review as part of the permitting process.