Cork Harbour Toxic Dump Plan Questioned

cork | environment | press release Wednesday March 19, 2014 21:05 by Friends of Irish Environment - Friends of Irish Environment admin at friendsoftheirishenvironment dot org Tel & Fax: 353 (0)27 74771

Press Release - Friends of Irish Environment

Ahead of tomorrow’s opening of the An Bord Pleanala hearing into the plans for the clean up of the old steel plant’s toxic dump on Haulbowline Island, Friends of the Irish Environment [FIE] has called for the work to be extended to the site of the steel plant itself.

The current proposal is limited to the 9 hectare waste dump on the island.

FIE says numerous reports show that the contamination on the island includes not just the 9 hectare East Tip which is the subject of the license hearing but the 12 hectare site of the steel plant itself which is being ignored.

The 2002 Report prepared for the Department of the Marine stated of the 12 hectare main site

‘On the Main Site, a high risk to humans from PCBs spills; a high risk to marine ecosystems from metals from dust; high to moderate risks to humans from wind-blown dust; high to moderate risks to human intruders from radioactive contamination; a moderate risk to site workers from metals in the building interiors; and high risks to groundwater from hydrocarbon process and storage spills were identified by Enviros Aspinwall.[1]

‘Not only is the main site being ignored by the proposed licence but the East Tip and the Steel works were both built on reclaimed ground that would allow a path for contamination to pass undeterred between the two sites’, the group said.

‘While the steel plant building itself has been removed, there was no attempt to clean up the ground, the extensive collapsed drains, or the cellars, which remain congested with toxic flue dust and hazardous waste. This has created the very real possibility of serious ongoing environmental pollution.’

‘When it comes to toxic sites, a job half done is a job not done at all’, said Tony Lowes, one of the Directors of Friends of the Irish Environment.

The hearing will take place at the Clarion Hotel, Cork on Wednesday, March 19.

Verification and Further Information: Tony Lowes 027 74771 / 087 2176316

[1] Phase One Investigation and Assessment at Haulbowline Island, Cork Harbour, Cork, Enviros Aspinwall, Final. [For the Department of Communications, Marine, and Natural Resources] October 2002