Mossmorran given final warning over June flaring incident – Kingdom FM

Bosses at Mossmorran have been handed final warning papers over a week long flaring incident in June last year.

The environmental watchdog SEPA says people living near the petrochemical plant in Central Fife were subject to ‘serious disturbances’.

Local campaigners have been calling for a review into the impact flaring is having on the environment and public health.

James Glen from the Mossmorran Action Group has been speaking to Kingdom FM News about the warning:

‘Sincere apologies’

Sonia Bingham, Plant Manager at Mossmorran, said: “As you may be aware, ExxonMobil’s Fife Ethylene Plant (FEP) at Mossmorran has today been given a final warning by regulatory authority, SEPA (Scottish Environmental Protection Agency), after it completed its investigation into the flaring events at FEP in June, 2017.

“As plant manager of FEP, I wish to offer our sincere apologies to you for any concern or inconvenience the flaring events in June may have caused.

“We accept the findings of SEPA’s investigation, and are actively working to address the issues it identified.

“Following the events in June last year, we completed our own detailed investigation into the flaring and its impact on the community, and have already made a series of improvements to our maintenance processes, and to our flaring-related communications with the local community.

“We are also committed to work with SEPA on an enhanced programme of air quality monitoring.

“No one wants flaring, including ourselves as it can cause concern and inconvenience to the local community and it negatively impacts on production.

“Flaring is the established precautionary mechanism used in petrochemical plants worldwide when there is an interruption to production.

“Flaring is safe and is an environmentally approved measure to safely burn virtually all the hydrocarbons that cannot be processed.

“While the nature of plants like FEP mean that flaring can occur, please be assured that our focus continues to be to minimise flaring, and we continue to invest in projects utilising the latest technologies and enhancements for the long-term future of the plant.

“FEP has been an integral part of the Fife community for more than 30 years and has an exciting future ahead.

“I am extremely proud of the team at FEP, the majority of whom live locally.

“They work fastidiously and continue to apply engineering ingenuity to ensure the plant runs as efficiently as possible.

“Our team at FEP will continue to work with SEPA, other relevant agencies and the local community to monitor and minimise the impact of flaring.”