Probe into illegal disposal of council asbestos pipes

An independent investigation has been launched to find out who illegally disposed of asbestos pipes belonging to Clare County Council.

The pipes were dumped at nine different locations in the county.

The local authority confirmed yesterday it has commissioned an “external independent investigation” into how asbestos cement water mains, which were replaced over a number of years, were dumped at six sites near Kilkee and three sites around Kilrush. The operation to remove the asbestos could prove costly, as engineers believe that while some was left on the surface, a lot more could be buried.

The council has informed the Health and Safety Authority (HSA) it has engaged a specialist consultant to advise on the best way to remove the waste. It will also liaise with the public living close to the sites.

“Clare County Council’s environment section received a complaint from a member of the public last June regarding a number of areas where asbestos waste materials were deposited.

“The council has since identified nine sites where pieces of asbestos are located on the surface and potentially buried,” a council spokesman said.

“All of the asbestos material investigated to date consists of broken pieces of asbestos cement water main. It is considered that all of this material originated on Clare County Council water services mains replacement and mains repair works. The material appears to have been deposited over an undetermined number of years, up to June 2013.”

Asbestos waste disposal is governed by legal requirements and the requirements of the HSA and the Environmental Protection Agency.

The council said it hopes to remove the waste in three phases and wants to begin shortly.

The spokesman said the first phase, which will be undertaken as per the advice of the consultant, will involve the removal of pieces of pipe on the surface at all sites. It’s expected this will take three to four weeks.

A specialist consultant will then be employed to carry out soil testing and to establish how much asbestos is buried at the sites.

The material will then be extracted and disposed of safely.

“The time for this is not known in detail as yet, because it is subject to estimating the amount of material in each site. The costs associated with carrying out these works [on buried asbestos] are as yet undetermined and will be guided by the outcome of the site investigations,” the council spokesman said.