Clean-up of former Irish Steel plant could cost €30m

THE cost of decontaminating the former Irish Steel plant is estimated to be in the region of €30 million. But that could rise depending on what’s discovered during a major investigation expected to get underway this autumn.

Estimates at present which are based on best-case scenario are that it could take two-and-a-half years to complete the clean-up.

Cork County Council, acting on behalf of the Department of the Environment, has advertised for consultant engineers and expects to be in a position to send them into Haulbowline within the next two or three months.

Radioactive material was found on the site soon after it closed. This included some licensed material contained in certain detectors and equipment. However, some scrap was also identified as radioactive during screening. Last year, the department ordered removal of this waste. That has been completed and it has since been exported for disposal.

"An intrusive site investigation is required in order to determine fully the nature and extent of contamination of the site and remediation options that would be appropriate. As would be expected on a former steelworks site, there is a large quantity of furnace dust which is mostly bagged. Arrangements are being made to have this dust removed for disposal," a department spokeswoman said.

She added that waste oil and grease had also been removed.

An Environmental Protection Agency report, published in 2001, stated that soil samples from trial pits were analysed and showed high concentrations of copper, chromium, cadmium, lead and zinc at the plant, which was purchased from the State by Mittal in 1995 for £1 (€1.27).

Cork County Council is to debate a motion shortly that it petition the Taoiseach and Tánaiste to pursue Mittal for every penny of the clean-up costs. The proposer, Cllr John Mulvihill, is also demanding to know if the tycoon was legally entitled to benefit from the sale of part of the site, which was purchased by the Port of Cork Authority.

"It appears the State could be left with the clean-up bill and it will be the taxpayer who will have to foot it," said Cllr Mulvihill.