THERE is no doubt that the concerns of the public about last week's latest bout of unplanned flaring at the Fife Ethylene Plant were fully justified.

The failure in the boiler system at the Mossmorran facility saw a really intense bout of flaring and through the reduction of the steam supply there was some smoke involved.

The noise that went with the operation reminded people of the Easter weekend experience when the flaring lasted for five days.

The plant will remain out of action for around three to four weeks as repairs take place to restore the steam supply which is so vital to the production system at FEP.

Rightly local and nationl politicians are highly concerned with these recent developments and are wanting answers to their questions.

The handling of last week's emergency by ExxonMobil's team at Mossmorran was much more effective than previous situations and the public were kept up to date with what was happening and they have committed to continuing that during the repair programme.

Inevitably though the questions posed by MSPs will have to be answered as the surrounding communities of Cowdenbeath, Lochgelly, Cowdenbeath, Lumphinnans, Hill of Beath, Crossgates and Auchtertool deserve to be assured of the safety of the ethylene production process at Mossmorran.