‘This has all been a hush hush job’
Sub-contractors engaged last year to clean-up the former Irish Steel site at Haulbowline Island said yesterday that they were unaware that more than 500,000 tonnes of hazardous material in surface lagoons and contained within the former steel works location.
However, a detailed investigation of the site was completed six years ago and found a “high” likelihood of “severe” health risks to the local community.
The contractors involved in cleaning up the Haulbowline island site came across the dangerous material when an excavator sank into sludge last February while screening surface materials.
However, it’s understood that the Department of the Environment felt that the waste would remain safe while buried under the surface, and only became a risk when disturbed.
This view is disputed by the sub-contractors involved in the clean up who say that the waste is continually disturbed by tidal movements.
The sub-contractors, who were not advised to protect themselves against this level of hazardous waste before starting the job, also revealed that at least two school tours visited the adjacent Haulbowline site recently.
“The navy are playing football on a field adjacent to where all this dust is blowing,” said environmental consultant Stephen Griffin yesterday.
Mr Griffin worked with the contractor involved in the clean-up operation, overseeing the environmentally sensitive side of the job.
“We found extensive amounts of hazardous waste which they [the Department of the Environment] asked us to cover up with waste, and leave it there.”
He said it was “illegal” to leave hazardous waste in position, without a licence, for more than six months, while the whole site amounts to “the largest illegal hazardous waste site” in this country.
Mr Griffin said that neither the county council or the EPA responded in writing to any of the sub-contractors’ concerns following the discovery of the hazardous material, despite a request for advice.
“This has all been a hush hush job,” he said.
The site is devoid of plant life for the past number of years, a fact attributed to the level of contaminated material lying underneath the surface.
The navy expressed concern about the site as far back as 2001, when a senior officer wrote that the naval services “continues to suffer from the health and safety hazards of toxic dusts, lifted by the wind from sites where such dusts were deposited by Irish Ispat”.
An engineer monitoring the clean-up project on behalf of the state authorities, Keith Bywater, yesterday declined to comment on allegations of a Department of the Environment cover-up in relation to the amount of hazardous waste on-site.
“This is a sensitive issue and it would be quite improper of me to talk to the media,” he said.
Cork County Council said it was a matter for the department to deal with. “We wouldn’t really have had any direct role to play in it,” said a spokesperson.
Green Party senator Dan Boyle has campaigned for years for the Irish Steel site to be properly cleaned up, and said yesterday that it gave him “no pleasure” to be proved right when he said the cost of remediation had been under-estimated.
“There’s a huge amount of material and there has to be an ongoing commitment to removing it,” he said. “I can understand the need to put a check on things now and assess how that should be done. I have no reason to believe there’s any attempt to stop the process or leave the material there in perpetuity.”
Friends of the Irish Environment said that this was “the largest and most extensive pollution incident in the history of the state” and said the public has a right to know the full extent of the contamination, “and the ongoing danger to the public and the environment.”
ON Friday, June 15, 2001, Irish Ispat Limited announced the shutdown of operations in Cork. The company, a subsidiary of Ispat International NV, called a meeting of creditors on the day and said it was seeking the appointment of a liquidator.
The Cork Harbour steel plant got up and running in August 1939 as Irish Steel Ltd. Seven years later, the privately owned firm went into receivership.
In 1947 the government of the day took over the company’s assets amid demands that the 240 jobs at the plant be saved.
The steel market underwent a boom period in the ’60s with the plant operating 24/7 to meet the demands of customers. By the turn of the ’70s, Irish Steel had 120 employees.
A downturn in the economy in the ’70s marked the beginning of a prolonged end for the plant.
By the ’80s, after government investments worth £65 million, the workforce was reduced to 600. The ’80s were tough times at the plant, workers accepted a pay freeze in 1986.
By the turn of the ’90s nothing positive had happened and Irish Steel underwent further rationalisation and job cuts.
In 1996, the State wrote off debts of £27.5m and sold Irish Steel to Indian company Ispat International Group for £1.
The Government came up with a £30m investment package on the understanding that 330 jobs would be secured under a five-year plan.
In 2001, just when the five-year plan expired, so did the plant with accumulated losses of £10m. At the time 400 people lost their jobs.
What is it used for? Secondary steel production is a significant source of mercury air emissions. When mercury is deposited in water, it reacts with certain micro-organisms to form methyl mercury, a highly toxic substance that builds up in fish, shellfish and animals that eat fish, the main source of exposure to humans.
Health effects: Mercury exposure at high levels can harm the brain, heart, kidneys, lungs and immune system of people of all ages, especially to the developing nervous system of unborn babies and young children. When mercury enters the bloodstream, it can penetrate the blood-brain barrier where it can disrupt metabolic processes, causing tremor and psychopathological symptoms like insomnia, depression and irritability.
What is it used for? Zinc is used principally for galvanising iron and globally more than 50% of metallic zinc goes into galvanising steel. It is also important in the preparation of certain alloys.
Health effects: Zinc is a trace element that is essential for human health. Although humans can handle proportionally large concentrations of zinc, too much can still cause health problems, such as stomach cramps, skin irritations, vomiting, nausea and anaemia.
Very high levels of zinc can damage the pancreas, disturb the protein metabolism, and cause arteriosclerosis. Extensive exposure to zinc chloride can cause respiratory disorders.
Zinc can be a danger to unborn and newborn children through the blood or milk of their mothers.
What is it used for? Compounds of chromium are used in steel production to harden the product.
It is toxic to humans, plants and animals.
It controversially came to prominence in the Hollywood film, Erin Brokovich, starring Julia Roberts.
The film was based on a 1996 case in which residents of a California desert town won a $333 million settlement from Pacific Gas & Electricity after the utility company’s tanks leaked high concentrations of chromium 6 into the groundwater.
Health effects: Common health effects include lung cancer, deep ulcers to the hand, foetal abnormalities, nasal cancer and inflammation of the liver or larynx.
What is it used for? Lead is a byproduct of steel production and a very strong poison.
Health effects: High concentrations can impair mental development in children. Long-term exposure to low levels of lead can affect the nervous system. Lead is much more harmful to children than adults because it can affect developing nerves and brains. Unborn children are the most vulnerable.
What is it used for? PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls) belong to a broad family of man-made organic chemicals known as chlorinated hydrocarbons. Due to their non-flammability, chemical stability, high boiling point, and electrical insulating properties, PCBs have been used in hundreds of industrial and commercial applications.
Health effects: Once in the environment, PCBs do not readily break down and may remain for long periods of time cycling between air, water, and soil. PCBs have been found in snow and sea water far away from where they were released. PCBs have been demonstrated to cause cancer, and other adverse health effects on the immune system, reproductive system, nervous system, and endocrine system.
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