Mathew Booyens
#EnvironmentalJustice, #Pollution, #AirPollution, #Risk
Image 1: Aerial Photograph of Ennis. Source: The Irish Road Trip. (2023)
Air pollution is described as environmental contamination by any physical, chemical, or biological agent, modifying the natural characteristics of the atmosphere. In Ireland, this phenomenon resulting in poor air quality is estimated to cause around 1,300 premature deaths annually. Highlighting the growing prevalence of dangerous air quality, the aim of this article is to shed light on the unusually high levels of air pollution recorded in Ennis (see Figure 1), said to regularly exceed long-term air pollution standards. Piecing together factors and contributors of this poor air quality, a case will be made regarding the environmental injustice faced by the residents of Ennis.
Image 2: Screenshot taken on the 5th of December from the EPA website, showing Ennis in yellow with the worst national air quality. Source: EPA (2023)
Ennis: A Brief Introduction
A town with a long history dating back to the 13th century. Ennis (see Plate 1), lying along the river Fergus, located in Ireland’s Mid-West, is the Capital town of Clare. One of the fastest growing towns in Ireland during the Celtic Tiger Years, benefitting from Ireland’s economic growth, Ennis’ population has grown from 13,718 in 1986, to 27,923 as of 2022; the sixth largest town by population in Ireland. From this information, it can be concluded that Ennis is a relatively standard town. However, dig a little deeper and you may find an unwelcome secret, Ennis’ level of air pollution. Various reports refer to worse than average quality occurring within this generally average town, sometimes worse than Beijing at the weekends, despite a 2011 smoky coal ban. Bearing this in mind, this leads me to the rest of this discussion; why?
Industrial Contributors?
Aughinish Alumina
Owned by parent company Rusal, Aughinish Alumina (see Plate 2) has been operating just a few kilometres south of Ennis, in Limerick since 1983. Amongst local residents, this alumina refinery has caused much controversy over the years regarding the possible health risks. Being the largest alumina refinery in Europe, this plant produces 1.9 million tonnes of alumina per year. The process of alumina refinery takes place in four steps. Regarding air pollution, these first two steps are of greatest concern. This being firstly, the import of bauxite, which is crushed, washed, and dried, then dissolved using caustic soda, and secondly, the filtering of this concoction to remove impurities, leaving a byproduct known as ‘red mud’.
The pure volume of bauxite that the plant imports allow for the influx of bauxite residue into the air; through bauxite stockpiles, & loading and transfer areas (Donoghue & Coffey, 2014). Moreover, the crushing of this bauxite results in the release of microparticles, harmful, and difficult to fully contain. Finally, what happens with this ‘red mud’, produced as a byproduct of alumina refinery too is of great concern; in the case of Aughinish, this environmental waste is laid in the open, along the banks of the River Shannon, presenting great risk to the wellbeing of the river and surrounding ecosystem, but of the quality of air too.
When dried, red mud is then left as bauxite residue (Kovacs et al., 2017), which has the opportunity to be picked up by local winds, greatly increasing the quantity of particles within the air. Viewing the magnitude of Aughinish’s red mud dumps (see Plate 2), it should be fairly apparent that there lies great potential in polluting the air. Despite industrial refineries obviously being harmful to human health, there has still been argument for its expansion, particular in the case of Aughinish. As written by Michele Horrigan, a four-year investigation (1995-1998) into the relation of dying and deformed livestock, toxic deposits, and harmful emissions released through large smokestacks by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) saw no clear correlation between the two. Despite the presentation of overwhelming evidence, clear disregard by the EPA saw the shifting of blame, suggesting poor management practice of farmers as the cause for this misfortune.
Image 3: Aerial Photograph of Aughinish Alumina, including ‘red mud’ open-air storage. Source: The Irish Times. (2022)
Moneypoint Power Station
Ireland’s largest generator of electricity, Moneypoint, located southwest of Ennis (see Plate 3), was commissioned in 1985 to meet growing electricity demand in Ireland. In a bid to reduce oil consumption, the power station’s fuel supply is coal, making it Ireland’s only coal-fired power station, interestingly in the same region as environmental pollutant Aughinish alumina. Clearly, being within general proximity to Ennis, particulates released from this power generation can easily enter the regional air, given correct wind conditions. Widely regarded as detrimental to human health, coal combustion has been shown to create carcinogens, cardiorespiratory toxins, and endocrine disruptors as by-products, leading to an increased risk of respiratory illness and mortality (Amster, 2019). It should be of no surprise that Ireland’s largest power station, a coal one at that, could be linked to adverse effects in air quality.
Image 4: Aerial View of Moneypoint Power Station. Source: ESB. (2023)
Irish Cement
Joining the list of possible industrial contributors to the poor air quality often seen at Ennis is the cement manufacturer Limerick Works (see Plate 4), owned by Irish Cement, and located to the southeast of Ennis. Dating back to 1938, increasing requirements for cement over the years has led to the development and increase of cement production within the facility. Involved in the creation of the final cement product lies a diverse array of possible risks. As written by (Mohamad et al., 2022), the processing phases within these factories release dust, and greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide. Exposure to this cement dust has proven unsafe to all inhaling it; (Rahmani et al., 2018) suggests that it can be linked to respiratory disorders such as asthma and lung infections. With this knowledge of the harmful implications of cement dust, acknowledging the proven leakage of cement dust in 2018 by Limerick Works should, hopefully, increasingly begin to piece together a story regarding Ennis’ worse-than-average air quality.
Image 5: Image of Irish Cement’s Limerick Works. Source: Irish Cement. (2023)
Geography and Topography?
Located in the West of Ireland, Ennis is almost as far away from Dublin, Ireland’s most important region and the home of our government, as possible. With a great deal of corporation tax (65%) produced by the Greater Dublin Area, and the highest density of people located there, why is it that Ennis of all places suffers from unjust air pollution? Could it be related to its distance away from Ireland’s primary focus?
Could this simply be a case of being an unfortunate victim of geography/topography? Johnny Flynn highlights the fact that Ennis is located upon a low-lying area, surrounded by hills, increasing the likelihood of air pollution lingering within the region. Moreover, inflating the issue surrounding topography; could the northern geographical location in relation to the key industrial pollutants highlighted be another contributing factor? Stated by Met Eireann, wind in Ireland most often comes from a southern and western position, precisely where these industrial producers are located relative to Ennis, perhaps inflating the issue. Intended or not, the result of a sub-par air quality presence in relation to the rest of the country presents a clear-cut case of environmental injustice. And something has to be done.
Insufficient Regulation
With increasing admissions to emergency departments, and premature deaths globally linked to air pollution, the World Health Organisation (WHO) in 2021 revised their recommended air quality standards (see Table 1). The EU, however, last updated recommendations over a decade ago. The difference in these recommendations sees pollutants such as fine particles (pm2.5) have a recommended limit of 5 micrograms per m3 by WHO standards, and 25 micrograms per m3 by EU standards, a 500% increase. With only legal requirement to follow EU standards, Ireland can base ‘safe air’ off these outdated standards. With this in mind, the threshold to reach ‘Very Poor’ air quality on the EPA website is much higher than if it was in-line with WHO regulation. This poor regulation standard often underemphasises an air quality issue, particularly in the case of Ennis, summing the few ‘Very Poor’ incidents to anomalies rather than reviewing baseline, which may present a more common occurrence of unhealthy air quality. Inadequately approaching the growing problem of air pollution only serves to weaken us as a whole, increasing the risk of respiratory and cardiovascular diseases, as well as overall mortality (Manisalidis et al., 2020). Allowing for the dismissal of very real issues, inadequate air quality regulation by the government leads to the unequal subjection of Ennis residents to disproportionately poor air quality by hiding behind outdated and insufficient regulation standards.
Table 1: WHO Air Pollution Recommendations. Source: WHO. (2021)
Fighting for Survival
The final point to be highlighted suggests the need for locals to ‘fight for their survival’, preventing the further addition of harmful pollutants into their air despite the overwhelming evidence suggesting the area’s exceptionally poor air quality. Going back to Aughinish, despite clear evidence of harm capable of being produced, presented by Michele Horrigan, Bord Pleanala, in 2022, approved expansion of the plant along the Shannon estuary, allowing for greater open-air storage of this toxic red mud, already spanning 450 acres. Subsequent protests earlier this year outside the Dail led to a reversal of the decision, thankfully removing the expansion of the harmful red mud storage. Additionally, 2022 approval of an Ennis data centre which would include a 4,674 sq meter power station, 18 gas engines, and 66 back-up diesel generators, has too faced backlash from the locals. Clearly, energy generation involving fossil fuels is of significant consequence to both air quality and human health. In the face of recent, frequent mentions of terrible air quality, approval and neglect is faced by the locals. A clear economic focus is put over that of local health and wellbeing. Why, in spite of clear indications of dangerous air quality must locals still need to challenge the addition of further negative industrial expansion? Why exactly is air quality so poor there, with nothing being done? Why must articles like these be presented to highlight the clear injustices faced by innocent people?
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Geographies of Waste 