Trouble ahead
I wholeheartedly agree with the Scottish Government’s plans to ban plastic-containing wet wipes amid concerns they break down into microplastics. Lorna Slater, Scotland’s circular economy minister, says they pose a risk to the environment and wildlife and can be harmful to human health. So true – but has she stopped to consider her beloved wind turbines are shedding microplastics from their blades all over the countryside, contaminating water sources, being picked up by wildlife and livestock which in turn are eaten by humans. This also applies to offshore turbines.
There have been concerns for years about the environmental impact from the erosion of wind turbine blades which are made with fibreglass and epoxy resin. One of the chemicals, Bisphenol A (BNA), has been linked with fertility problems in humans and wildlife yet the Scottish Government has admitted in a Freedom of Information request submitted by a concerned member of the public that “pollution levels of microplastics and BNA in ground water and water sources around Scottish wind power installations are not specifically being measured currently”.
Given the number of wind farms currently operational and in the planning system, this is an environmental disaster waiting to happen, caused by the very things that are meant to be saving the planet.
Aileen Jackson, Scotland Against Spin, East Renfrewshire
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