Chemical used by Nazis found in water supply

UP TO 10,000 residents of a rural stretch of Monaghan and Cavan are worried about the safety of their water, after it was revealed the supply has been contaminated with a chemical used by the Nazis to kill thousands of prisoners in the concentration camps of the 1940s.

Householders using the Glaslough group water scheme and other schemes were shocked to find that phenol, also known as carbolic acid, a chemical which can cause stomach problems as well as skin disorders, was found in their water.

Legal action has not been ruled out by residents who are angry about the water situation.

The discovery was made after many residents of the affected area, near Emyvale in Co Monaghan and which straddles the Cavan/Monaghan border, had reported various sicknesses in recent months.

Local people have been told not to use the water supplies, even when boiled, until three clear tests are reported by the local authorities.

“The future policing of the whole thing is my main concern,” said Glaslough scheme member Seamus O’Neill. “I have four children and I don’t want them to get sick.”

It was reported this week the problem arose after supply equipment sold by Cork-based environment solutions firm, Enva, to water treatment company, Veolia who carry out the necessary treatment on the Cavan/Monaghan supplies, allowed the contamination to occur, through a tainted water treatment product.

Enva said yesterday it would be “inappropriate” to comment on the incident, while the relevant investigation is ongoing.

“Enva are fully confident that the investigation will show that Enva has acted appropriately at all times,” said a statement from the company.

Mr O’Neill said that “nobody has taken responsibility” for the water problems.

“They’re [Veolia] treating our water for three years. We don’t know how long they’re using that chemical for.”

Asked if residents may go the legal route, he said: “There is a case for legal action, but the problem is who do you follow, or whose job is it to take the legal action?”

The local people are hoping three clear tests of their water will be confirmed in the near future, and they can go back to using their water. Now, they have to collect drinking water from spring wells, from a tap in Glaslough village or from a collection station using five-litre drums.

Phenol was used in medicine in the past as an antiseptic, an anaesthetic and also in the manufacture of drugs, but it has also been used in lethal injections.