What will it take for residents to get justice?

James Glen chair of the Mossmorran Action Group says

“Once again the night sky in Central Fife has been lit up with apocalyptic flaring as ExxonMobil experiences yet another unplanned emergency. A massive plume of black smoke testified to the release of a large quantity of unburned hydrocarbons and other toxic pollutants.

Families in neighbouring communities were again forced to suffer extensive noise intrusion, light pollution that turned night into day and consequent sleeplessness and anxiety.

Residents were left frustrated when they couldn’t report as the unplanned emergency to SEPA as their pollution helpline proved unable to cope with the volume of calls.

Individuals have submitted reports to our group of disturbed sleep, nausea, stress, anxiety, headaches, sore throats and burning eyes during this extreme flaring event (https://mossmorran.org.uk/social-impacts/). Unfortunately NHS Fife isn’t equipped to capture this data and the symptoms felt by residents will be arrogantly dismissed by ExxonMobil and some politicians.

In 2001 the then Shadow Health Minister, Nicola Sturgeon promised residents a public probe into Mossmorran, 18 years later residents are still waiting. Public calls for an independent social impact study has fallen on deaf ears, as the First Minister, and health minister Roseanna Cunningham ignore the plight of residents.

What will it take for residents to get justice? Another Buncefield disaster? Haven’t the authorities learned any lessons from Grenfell?