‘Serious concerns’ over plant’s bauxite deposits

The former mayor of Limerick has said he has “serious concerns” for the future after learning the Aughinish Alumina plant plans to extend the height of bauxite residue deposits to 100ft on lands adjacent to the Shannon Estuary.

According to Cllr Jim Long, Fine Gael, the Russian-owned company, under terms agreed in its last licence renewal, is to raise its bauxite deposits from 20 metres to 30 metres, to a height of 98.425 feet.

Aughinish, which extracts millions of tonnes of alumina, leaves huge amounts of distinctive red-coloured bauxite residue, which is stored as red mud on 450 acres of land at Askeaton, Co Limerick.

“What if there is freak flash flooding or increased rainfall in the area? I would be concerned about the River Shannon if vast amounts of this stuff got into it,” Mr Long said.

He described the red-coloured landscape as “completely out of sync” with the Shannon Estuary’s natural habitat that is home to protected wildlife.

A local farmer’s action group has brought the matter to the attention of the European Commission, arguing that the red mud should be classified as hazardous waste.

In 2010, a similar plant in Hungary had a spillage resulting in deaths and hundreds of injuries when a dam broke destroying towns and villages. The disaster caused widespread pollution and €1bn-plus to clean up.

At the time Aughinish Alumina, which employs 440 people, said there was no danger of a similar disaster at its plant.

In May this year, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said it was satisfied the design of Aughinish’s bauxite pond structures are in keeping with best international practice.

Mr Long is to bring a motion before Limerick City Council on Monday calling on the EPA to carry out an inspection on the deposition of bauxite.

The company said it had “no comment to make”.