Ramsgate Port Pollution Plan: Labour Puts Residents & Business At Risk

At  a meeting  of Thanet Council’s (TDC) cabinet on 18 December Labour councillors agreed  to  allow Brett Aggregates (BA)  to expand  its activities at Ramsgate Port including  the washing, crushing and screening of marine dredged aggregates and, so I am told,  possible manufacture of concrete blocks. To enable the company’s  expansion Labour councillors also agreed  that  TDC  will lease, or perhaps even sell,  the entire 32 acre port site to BA.  A decision is expected soon.  

What the Labour councillors and council officers  failed to mention at the meeting is that BAs  plans to expand its activities at the port are  fraught with danger and  may  lead to levels of pollution which threaten the  health of thousands of Ramsgate residents, and which could also destroy property values, blight the leisure  industry, jeopardise  future  investment in  the town and increase unemployment.

BA’s Expansion: The Risks

 Reports  by the  Health and Safey Executive and others  agree that the  crushing and screening of aggregate and  the manufacture of concrete and concrete products pose very serious health risks to those who work in these industries. Exposure to the fine silica dust  particles produced by these  processes,  have been established to be  a cause of  lung cancer, silicosis,  chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases and asthma.

The World Health Organisation (WHO)  estimates that almost 1 million workers a year die from occupational dust inhalation and many  times more become disabled.   I can find no reliable estimates of the number of aggregate, cement, concrete and construction workers in the UK who  develop,  or die from,  these diseases, but I think  it would be safe to say that it is  several thousand people each  year.

However,  it’s not just aggregate, concrete and cement industry workers who’s health is damaged and lives shortened by  exposure to dangerous  dust. Research has established that those who live close to aggregate processing and cement and concrete manufacturing  facilities, such as that proposed at Ramsgate Port,   are more likely than those who live further away,  to suffer respiratory diseases  illnesses  and disabilities resulting from the inhalation of airborne dust originating from these industrial processes.

Furthermore, the ships landing the raw materials at the port, the plant and equipment used on site for unloading, moving and crushing aggregate and for making concrete and concrete blocks, are all fuelled by diesel. 

Additionally ,  the number of HGV  lorries delivering supplies to BA or collecting processed aggregate and other products from BAs expanded operation at the port,   will significantly  increase compared with current numbers. These vehicles are also fuelled by diesel.

Just like silica dust, diesel exhaust emissions have  also been  linked by the WHO and other public health organisations  to lung cancer, respiratory and  cardiovascular disease.

Bearing in mind the close proximity of residential properties, businesses and  leisure services   to Ramsgate port it is likely  that the health and safety of several thousand people, especially  more vulnerable children  and older people,  will be put at risk by the decision  of Labour councillors   to allow  BA to expand its operations at Ramsgate Port.

To make matters worse, it is also likely that residents and businesses  in the vicinity of the port will also  be  subjected to noise nuisance caused by BAs operations.

The collective impact of air and noise pollution in the vicinity of the port is such that property prices are likely to collapse and visitors deterred from coming to Ramsgate. This will have knock on effect on businesses,  who are likely to close or relocate elsewhere which will lead to lower levels of investment in the town and increased unemployment.

Democracy Denied

 What angers me most  about this appalling  situation is that  Labour controlled TDC appears to be determined to allow  BA to expand its activities at Ramsgate  port  whatever the consequences might be.

In fact TDC has deliberately played down and  covered up,  the risks associated with BAs expansion at port and BAs reckless breaches of permitting regulations. There has been no environmental impact assessment of BAs expansion proposals, nor is there a plan to manage and monitor the pollution which is likely to be generated by such an expansion.

Most importantly of all  Labour councillors have made no plans for a fully informed public consultation exercise to find out what  Ramsgate residents feel about BAs expansion plans for the port.

Sadly the cover ups, the lack of information and  denial of democracy  which appear to be features of TDCs  shameful mismanagement of BAs activities at Ramsgate Port are behaviours chillingly reminiscent  of the asbestosis scandal of the 1970s -1990s

CALL OUT: If you have information about BA’s expansion at Ramsgate Port, or anything else, please call me in confidence on 07866588766 or email on ianddriver@yahoo.co.uk