Leaders: Open up debate on bioaerosols

Published on 22/04/2012 00:00

THERE is nothing inherently virtuous about something labelled “green”. One man’s environmental advance may be another’s disaster.

The Beauly-Denny power line has a necessary, ultimately environmentalist objective – as the superhighway that will carry electricity from Scotland’s new generation of renewable energy sources – but it is anathema to many of those living along its course. The large scale of land-based wind farms, necessary to generate any significant amount of power, is seen by many in nearby communities as “destroying the environment”. Just as there is no such thing as a free lunch, there is no such thing as an environmental project that is entirely on the side of the angels.

This dilemma is exemplified by the decision of the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (Sepa) to launch an inquiry into bio-hazards to human health originating at large-scale composting plants, previously regarded as the green alternative to landfill. Since there are already 160 such sites in Scotland, there is a significant public interest involved, especially as many of them are situated in the middle of communities. Sepa is concerned about the release of airborne micro-organisms known as bioaerosols, which can cause a number of adverse health effects.

Despite its rudely healthy, “Farmer Giles” connotations, compost has always represented a health hazard, even at the modest level of the suburban garden. In 2008, a man in England died after inhaling spores released by his compost heap. The recognised hazard is the fungus Aspergillus fumigatus, which survives the composting process. Aspergillosis caught from decayed plant matter is a health hazard for those with debilitating conditions. Most of the relevant research has been carried out in North America; it is time Scotland made its contribution.

It is also time that environmental issues were addressed in a less partisan manner. Friends of the Earth (FoE) did itself no favours with its dismissive reaction to the Sepa inquiry, insisting that the majority of airborne organisms “are largely harmless to humans”. Yes, but we are concerned with the harmful minority. FoE displayed synergy with the spokesman for the Association for Organics Recycling, the trade body for green waste recycling, which similarly played down the risk to “the lungs of a healthy person”. Such comments border on the cavalier. Not everybody in Scotland is healthy; the young and elderly are particularly vulnerable to respiratory conditions. We owe a duty of care to anyone who might possibly be at risk.

There is an unhelpful polarisation around environmental issues. Querying the health aspects of industrial-scale composting sites does not amount to a declaration of intent to return to landfill, with a spot of fracking in the Trossachs thrown in. Environmentalism must be scientifically objective, not a confrontation of believers and heretics. The usual rigour with which the authorities would rightly subject any industrial unit in an area close to people’s homes must not be relaxed just because the industry has an environmentally laudable aim. If we are to move to a more sustainable economy that helps in the battle against climate change, we must do so in a way that enjoys the full confidence of the public in the means necessary to achieve that aim.

Without in any way prejudging the outcome, Sepa is right to carry out a rigorous investigation of industrial composting technology and its implications for human health.

Place for the royal ski

THE plea by Ski Scotland that the Duke and Duchess of Strathearn (as William and Kate are properly titled north of the Border) should give their sport a boost by gracing the Highland slopes in place of Klosters, Meribel and other Alpine resorts is a perfectly reasonable request. The Royal Family spends a lot of time promoting British enterprises – why not Scottish skiing? It is a sport that both William and Kate enjoy, Scotland has excellent facilities and the royal pied-à-terre at Balmoral is within easy access of Scottish slopes. Perhaps it is too late in the season for anything to be arranged this year, but the Duke and Duchess could surely pencil in a date for later this year?

Any counter arguments are paper thin. It may be true that The Lecht does not boast as many fabulous restaurants as Klosters. Perhaps the après-ski cocktail bar and nightclub scene at Glenshee does not quite come up to the fashionable standards of Meribel. It is possibly the case that the horizontal sleet of Cairngorm in February cannot really compare with sunny Alpine peaks. But that has not stopped generations of hardy Scottish skiers from enjoying one of our great national resources.

As part of their royal duties, the royal couple would be helping out a vulnerable sector of the Scottish economy which has been in relative decline over the past decade. We look forward to hearing about the Duke and Duchess’s plans.