Kronospan safety raised in Senedd by AM

Questions about community safety following the fire at the Kronospan plant have been raised in the Senedd by Plaid Cymru North Wales AM Llyr Gruffydd.

Mr Gruffydd raised the matter and urged the Business Minister to ensure that the relevant government minister made a statement regarding the recent fire in Chirk, which he said had caused great concern in the local community.

He added: “There are health and safety concerns there after the third fire in three years. This time, the fire burned for a week causing pollution across the town and surrounding areas. It took 48 hrs before monitoring equipment was in place – missing the worst of the pollution. But this monitoring equipment has detected Formaldehyde, a carcinogen, in the air. In the wake of this, what is the Welsh Government doing to ensure this doesn’t happen again?”

Mr Gruffydd also questioned the response of the various agencies involved in dealing with the fire’s aftermath. While praising the work carried out by the fire service, he went on to call for “an independent inquiry with community representation to establish why the fire raged for so long and why the response from agencies was so sluggish.

“Will you also support my call for independent air-quality monitoring equipment to be based permanently there – the current temporary equipment had to be moved from Swansea?”

The Business Minister has pledged to respond to his request.