Consultants to assess risk on site

THE Department of the Environment has appointed consultants to carry out an immediate risk assessment of the Irish Steel plant after it emerged that the amount of toxic waste there was higher than previously believed.

Consultants White Young Green will begin the assessment next week, and will analyse soil, slag, dust, surface and ground water samples for all likely contaminants, including heavy metals such as chromium.

The same consultants carried out a previous assessment of the site in 2005.

This makes them the “best-suited to determine the best way forward in securing the site from an environmental and health and safety point of view should they find any immediate threat”, Environment Minister John Gormley said last night.

Earlier this week, the Irish Examiner reported that the department had ordered a sub-contracting firm to “cap” lagoons containing hazardous waste rather than remove the potentially deadly material.

Documents seen by this paper revealed that the waste included highly toxic substances such as chromium 6, one of the world’s most dangerous carcinogens.

In response to the story, the department differentiated between surface and sub-surface waste.

It said it had hired a firm to clear the site of the surface waste, which did not pose a threat. This firm sub-contracted the work to Louis J O’Regan Ltd, which discovered sub-surface toxic waste in one of the lagoons and began to remove it.

But the department ordered the lagoons capped — a recommendation which, it said, was in line with expert advice which suggested the waste they contained would only pose a threat if disturbed.

According to the department, Louis J O’Regan Ltd continued to remove the lagoon waste without authorisation, eventually leading to the termination of the contract. But the company has rejected the department’s suggestions it carried out unauthorised works.

Whatever the case, the department is now acknowledging that the disturbance of the waste in the lagoons may pose a risk, hence the immediate assessment.

“White Young Green previously carried out an extensive intrusive site investigation in 2005 which indicated no evidence of any immediate threat to human health or the environment and they are best-suited to determine the best way forward in securing the site from an environmental and health and safety point of view should they find any immediate threat that presents as a result of the unauthorised work of the sub-contractors,” the minister’s statement said in full.

“Testing results will be assessed against baseline data from their previous survey in 2005. This assessment will form part of a programmed approach to the management of the site and will also be used to inform further consideration of the future of the site.”

Fine Gael South Central TD Deirdre Clune last night called on Mr Gormley to release any report in his department’s possession which details toxin levels.

“The minister has stated that he believes there is no serious risk to those who worked or continue to work on the island, or to the local residents. But he must now prove that this is the case.

“If he is unable to prove this, he must inform those who worked, work or live in the local area just what risks they face.”