The proposed development is based on technology that has been successfully and safely deployed around Europe for many decades.
In terms of human health impacts, Public Health England has been undertaking an ongoing major Government funded study since 2012 into the potential health effects of emissions from waste combustion. PHE has repeatedly reported that it has not found a consistent or conclusive linkage between energy-from-waste plants and adverse human health. Accordingly, Government policy continues to support the development of energy-from-waste facilities.
Safety and environmental issues are regulated by the Environment Agency, which will determine whether to grant the facility an Environmental Permit. These regulations have significant teeth; non-compliance can lead to prosecutions as well as closures.