Farmers fear Aughinish mud stack

A MUD stack beside the Aughinish Alumina factory in Limerick is to be discussed by the Dáil environment committee.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) re-issued a licence last January for the 103 hectare facility which is used to store the waste products (red mud and toxic salt cake) from the Aughinish Alumina factory.

But the Cappagh Farmers Support Group (CFSG), which represents local farmers in the Askeaton area, said there were fears about red dust blowing off the mud stack and about contamination of groundwater.

There have been dust blows in the past and, according to the EPA, ground water pollution from caustic contamination is a continuous problem on the site.

“We maintain there’s material there that’s toxic and that it can blow off. And if ground water is contaminated, where is it coming from?” said CFSG chairman Pat Geoghan.

Aughinish Alumina began extracting alumina from bauxite ore on the 1,000 acre Aughinish Island site in 1983. It has increased output from 800,000 tonnes per year to more than 1.25 million tonnes per year.

Under the licence granted by the EPA, Aughinish Alumina is required to rehabilitate the mud stack. However, attempts to grow vegetation on the surface have not succeeded so far. A system of water sprinklers is used to keep the red dust down.

The CFSG had asked the Dáil committee on Communications, Natural Resources and the Marine to investigate the mud stack.

The farmers were told any investigation would fall under the remit of the Oireachtas Environment committee, due to discuss the issue in the forthcoming weeks, say the Green Party.

Locals are also concerned that run-offs from the hazardous red mud and salt cake can leak out from the mud stack. The EPA licensed Aughinish to extend the mud stack by 30 hectares in 1998 and said the company agreed to upgrade its containment facilities by putting a €2.5 million flexible membrane liner in the new waste section.

The EPA also said dust, air and surface water emissions were monitored each month by its own inspectors and by Aughinish Alumina, and EPA inspections showed compliance with the factory’s integrated pollution control licence.

Aughinish Alumina was not available for comment.