RESIDENTS have raised concerns over the potential threat of dioxins from a proposed waste plant north of Carlisle. 

The proposed site, put forward by North West Recycling at Rockcliffe, will heat waste to break it down into a gas, which can be used for electricity generation or refined into other chemicals and fuel.

However, the site has come under scrutiny from campaigners who are particularly concerned about the potential for dioxin emissions.

The substances can cause cancer, damage the nervous and immune systems, interfere with hormones, and cause developmental defects, according to health experts. 

The campaigners argue that the problem is worsened because dioxins become more concentrated as they move up the food chain, posing a specific threat to agricultural areas like Rockcliffe.

A report written for the company behind the proposal predicts infant dioxin exposure exceeding the "tolerable" limit.

Sally Tears from the Rockcliffe and District Action Group said: "Our children deserve better than this.

"This is completely unacceptable."

In 2018, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) reduced its 'tolerable' dioxin threshold, but the UK did not follow suit.

According to campaigners, the predicted infant intake just from the proposed plant would be 'more than seven times the level considered tolerable in Europe'.

They also noted that the applicant's report is based on predictions made by computer software called IRAP, written in Canada.

Local farmer John Story said: "This assessment assumes we farm like they do in North America, but we don’t.

"What’s the good of an assessment if it is based on incorrect assumptions?"

The group has also reiterated coverage by Le Monde, one of France's leading newspapers, which showed the country's health agency had recommended the non-consumption of eggs for those near the largest waste incinerator in the country, Ivry-Paris XIII incinerator, due to 'high levels of dioxins' found in eggs of hens raised outdoors near the site.

Highlighting the Human Health Risk Assessment (HHRA) associated with the proposal, North West Regeneration Ltd emphasised that the evaluation was conducted under a 'worst-case scenario.' The assessment concluded: "It has been demonstrated that for the maximally exposed individual, exposure to dioxins, furans, and dioxin-like PCBs is not significant."

North West Recycling states that they have commissioned significant studies from independent experts, including an Air Quality Assessment and Modelling, Human Health Risk Assessment (HHRA), and Ecology and Habitat Risk Assessments.

The company stated that these reports have been reviewed by statutory consultees including Cumberland Council Environmental Health, Cumberland Council Historic Environment, Cumbria Wildlife Trust, the Environment Agency, Historic England, Natural England, UK Health Security Agency, and the Food Standards Agency (FSA).

"The Planning and Permitting Authority have also engaged their own independent companies to provide expert evaluation and scrutiny of these reports including the County Ecologist. NWR has therefore entrusted these experts to provide sound reasoning for the proposed gasification plant considering and concluding any concerns raised.

"The planning and permitting process will consider all the legal arguments including compliance with Environmental Legislation. 

"The Environment Agency requirements are for a human health risk assessment of dioxin/furan emissions from the facility based on the US EPA HHRAP methodology and the IRAP model has been developed to estimate the dose received by the human body, often referred to as the external dose. This IRAP model is used in the absence of UK or EU methods."

Cumberland Council is unable to comment on it being a live application.