Residents reject toxic pond proposal

RESIDENTS of Silvermines in Co Tipperary have angrily rejected a proposal to safeguard a toxic ‘tailings’ pond by covering it with waste.

The company responsible for the site, Mogul, had suggested the idea as one of a number of proposals to rehabilitate the 147-acre Gortmore Tailings Pond and other former mining sites in the Silvermines region.

But the Department of Communications, Marine and Natural Resources has told the company it wants more details. The pond has long been covered over but the protective layer of grass has eroded in places, creating the potential for dust-blows. Much of the dust is toxic.