Malta has no large scale chemical industry.
The major sources of pollution are : the power stations;
the waste tips; sewage outflows; motor vehicles and the
construction industry. The power stations at Marsa and Delimara,
which from 1995 are both oil fired, emit sulphur dioxide
which is the single most important contributor to acid rain.
Acid rain damages : buildings, crops, birds, fish and trees.
Sulphur dioxide also impairs respiration, is a trigger to
asthmatic attacks and is also corrosive to the mucous membranes.
For the last 7 years the quantity of motor
vehicles on our roads has increased at the rate of approximately
10,000 per year. Licensed motor vehicles now amount to 226,000.
Many of these do not use lead-free petrol. Personal motor
vehicles are an extremely un-ecological mode of transport,
and no effort has been made to curb their use. The government
has failed to improve a highly inadequate public transport
system and the demand for motor cars remains high in a country
where the average car journey is around 10 km long and 75%
of dwellings are located within 5 minutes walk of a bus
stop.
Emissions testing on motor vehicles was expected to start
in 2002, however, it is widely believed that most vehicles
that should fail the test will be ‘allowed’
to pass.
Recent analysis has shown that carbon
dioxide from the burning of fossil fuels at the power stations
contribute to 50% of the Greenhouse Effect, also known as
'global warming'. Coal dust which used to be left uncovered
at the Marsa power station is chemically active, as is coal
ash which is slightly radioactive - we know that some Enemalta
employees (particularly those involved in the transport
of coal to the power station and of the ash to the Benghajsa
dump) have had to be treated surgically because of the effect
of the ash and dust on their respiratory system.
The problems related to the waste tips
and sewage are covered in our position paper about waste.
According to a report drawn up by Swedish
scientists some years ago, the Maltese have the second highest
level of lead in blood of various countries tested worldwide.
Although the report did not conclusively indicate the reason
for this phenomenon it indicated the large numbers of cars
on the road and the burning of sump oil and (lead) painted
wood in the bakeries as probable causes.
Tap water in Malta is generally of poor
quality. There are frequent episodes of high sediment content
as well as bouts of sewage contamination after heavy rain.
At present the ground water fraction (about 40% of supply)
is very saline (approx. 1000 ppm chloride) and also has
significant nitrate content from fertiliser leaching. Reverse
Osmosis water still has some 400 ppm chloride (against a
WHO recommended level of less that 100 ppm). The benefit
of very low nitrate is dented by almost zero fluoride levels.
The Mediterranean Sea, once thought of
as one of the cleanest is now one of the most polluted.
According to Greenpeace two million tonnes of crude oil
are spilled into the Mediterranean every year. This constitutes
one third of the oil dumped at sea worldwide. Greenpeace
have also calculated that 120,000 tonnes of mineral oils;
12,000 tonnes of phenols; 60,000 tonnes of detergents; 3,800
tonnes of lead; 100 tonnes of mercury and 3,600 tonnes of
phosphorus also find their way into the Mediterranean yearly.
Moviment ghall-Ambjent has continually
campaigned for the introduction of pollution controls. We
recommend that :
