about $250,000 every three years, an official at Bermuda Paint Company said yesterday.

But the engineer in charge of Tynes Bay said Mr. Alex Outerbridge was "extremely high'' in his estimate.

Mr. Outerbridge, sales manager at Bermuda's manufacturer of environmentally-friendly paints, said Government was determined to paint the stack, despite his company's warnings.

"If you paint anything, no matter what colour, there is going to be weathering, and there is going to be soot build-up,'' Mr. Outerbridge said.

"Our professional opinion is that once painted the stack will be an ongoing maintenance factor.'' Because sanding and other preparations would be required, and those painting the 200-foot-high stack would receive danger pay, the cost could be about $250,000 every three years, he said.

It would be better to leave the stack in its natural state, or treat it with a silicone penetrant which would only require a periodic washdown.

The company's views were taken before Cabinet, but "they're going to paint it -- end of story,'' he said.

"We weren't looking to win a paint contract,'' he said. "We were wearing our hat as a taxpayer that contributes to the coffers.'' But Mr. Stephen Hunt, the engineer overseeing the $70-million Tynes Bay project for the Ministry of Works and Engineering, said the figures quoted by Mr. Outerbridge were "extremely high.'' The stack would be covered with a specialty paint that would also enhance the durability of the concrete, Mr. Hunt said. Each coat was expected to last 15 to 20 years.

Mr. Hunt said soot would be removed from emissions before they reached the stack, and he did not expect black marks would appear. "There may be some long-term build-up on the leeward side of the chimney from natural sorts of sources,'' he said. "But at the great height you're talking about, I doubt whether it would be perceptible.'' The decision to paint the stack dated back to the Development Applications Board hearing, when concerns were expressed about the effect of the plant on the natural surroundings, he said.

The incinerator would have a Bermuda-style roof, and the contract specified the chimney should be painted "a very pale blue.'' Mr. Hunt would not say how much the initial paint job would cost. "The prices that contractors tender are really confidential,'' he said. "Suffice it to say it is nowhere near a quarter of a million dollars.'' The stack should be painted within two months.

Mr. Outerbridge said he was dubious about a coating lasting 15 to 20 years. He suggested people compare the painted ZBM aerial to the Belco stack.