Wednesday 17 February 2010

McManston. McCancer.

Clearly an announcement of Ramsgate-Edinburgh flights is the death throes of Manston and Infratil.

Very few people would be turning that into a regular tourism slot I’m sure.

The flights even take off on a Friday lunchtime and return on a Sunday lunchtinme: barely a day in Edinburgh or Thanet.

Little yield except cancer – and Flybe are notorious for their “ghost flights”: flying empty or hiring actors(!) to fill the planes to keep slots open.

And the Ramsgate-Ostend cargo flights can only yield cancer, asthma etc.

Especially as the flight routes away form the towns are always breached.

So aviation fuel is dumped at low-level straight onto the local population.

Add in Infratil and TDC removing the noise monitors in 2006 – a Board Director of Infratil no less, so clearly Health and Safety issues in the aviation industry are expected to be rather feeble.

While the local council and councillors seem to have quietly agreed not to mention this - and certainly not to provide replacement monitors.

So the cancer levels would increase.

And no details would be available.

Even to the extent of the main benzene monitor being removed last July at the time of the announcement of the night flights and then a hurried press release in November to announce improved-monitoring-by-removal.

A sudden announcement of air quality areas for the roads under the airport.

Cancer Boy Clarke tells us that airports and jumbo jets don’t contribute to cancer.

And off he flies back to the good folks of Rotorua or the expansion of Whenuapai Airport. Maybe the expansion of Wellington or Auckland or Prestwick.

Remember, jet fuel doesn’t cause cancer. Definitely not. Especially at low level. Definitely not. Dousing the population again and again. No problem.

And the removal of monitors from the airport means the data’s compromised.

No monitors. No data. No problem for expansion.

Surely the monitors should be reinstated in the wrong place?

Surely the mobile monitors should not be used?

Surely the overflights should be averaged out over a 24 hour period so they’re deemed quiet?

Surely environmentally-efficient for kerosene is the same as environmentally-friendly?

Surely building on the town’s drinking water supply is a good idea?

And then expanding flights? And then removing the monitors?

Surely then the cancer levels would increase and no-one would ever know why their children or grandparents were dying off or getting sick?

With Matt gone and the same politicians and civil servants who will remove the dumped jumbo jets?

How will the water supply be cleaned?

How many hospital beds are required for the cancer ward over the next few years and generations?

After all lung cancer and genetic birth defects aren’t just for one life.

It’s the gift that keeps giving.

You. Your family. Their family. Now. And in the future.

No.

McManston simply means more McCancer.

And the silence of 3 MP’s and candidates.

Silence from 56 councillors at TDC.

Silence from 750 civil servants at TDC.

Silence from 84 KCC politicians.

Maybe cheap flights with an airport next to the town are too high a price to pay.

And when the airport closes?

A few dumped jets. Roosts for bats according to the Infratil Masterplan.

A taxpayer-funded carpark over the water supply.

An EUjet consultation hustled through as the planes began to fly.

A hustled emergency session for the BA flights and ChinaGate cargo warehouses.

A Jet Summit/CGP building and the mysterious ChinaGate/EKO/CGP development on farmland.

The radar with no upgrades. Yet. Soon. Someday.

The overflow tank into the water supply and Pegwell Bay.

A few derelict hangars.

An EU border post for 24/7 cargo flights.

An MOD fire training base on the water supply.

The monitors removed so the cancer cost is not revealed.

All perched on the edge of towns that have burned down and fallen down - and the people died 11 years earlier than in the rest of Kent.

No wonder so many of the houses are empty – yet we need to build more.

No wonder the schools are being converted into old folks homes as the population ages and dies faster than anywhere else.

Maybe the politicians and civil servants are hoping to save face by delaying closing the airport?

And still the planes fly over the towns and onto the water supply dousing the public and water in aviation fuel.

Time for Change.

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