Updated | Decision to temporarily close family park ‘to protect people’s health’

The Ministry for the Environment has reiterated its decision to temporarily close the family park in Marsaskala was based on the conclusions of a report drawn up by experts.

According to the report's opinion, the park should be declared "out of bounds" because of a fault in the adjacent Sant' Antnin recycling plant. A hydroliser tank, used to clean the biogas produced from treating household waste from hydrogen sulphide before this passes into the electricity generating unit, was damaged.

In a reaction, however, the Nationalist Party asked why it took the government so long to close down the park since the fault was detected in May. The park was quickly opened before the 9 March general elections before all areas were even completed.

According to the experts who presented their report to environment minister Leo Brincat, sulphur emissions were however not in breach of EU levels.

"The government acted the moment the report was presented to it. The situation we found at WasteServ and the recycling plant was far worse than we could have ever imagined," the ministry said.

It said the previous administration had failed to answer for the serious shortcomings which were now being made public.

The ministry said the plant's technical was "typical of the bad planning and management which afflicted the plant along the years". It insisted that along the years, health and safety measures were almost non-existent.

The government reassured that while the fault was being repaired, there was no imminent risk for the workers. It was however working to improve health and safety measures.

Earlier

The Opposition today questioned the government's decision to temporarily close the Family Park in Marsascala, which was attributed to a fault in the hydrolyser at the adjacent recycling plant.

Yesterday, the government said the park, which was inaugurated days before the March general election, was being temporarily shut down on the advice of experts who recommended it should be declared "out of bounds".

Nationalist MPs George Pullicino and Charlo Bonnici asked why it took the government so long to close down the park since the fault was detected in May.

"Where the persons who visited the park since then exposed to any health risks?" the MPs asked.

They also asked the environment minister Leo Brincat to explain why the park was being closed while workers at the recycling plant were still attending for work, at a higher risk than the park visitors.

While asking the minister when would the fault be repaired, the Nationalist MPs asked: "Will the recycling plant employees be exposed to this risk while the equipment is repaired?"

Pullicino and Bonnici noted that maintenance works needed to be carried out from time to time but said that they could not understand why a fault which developed at the beginning of May was being attributed to the previous government.

"Why is WasteServ taking so long to repair the damage?" the MPs said, adding that it was clear that the minister slept on the problem he was faced with.