Public warned to stay away from shoreline near Whitegate refinery after gas oil spill

Irving Oil has apologised and said it is still working on containment and cleanup operations

Irving Oil's Whitegate refinery. File picture: Eddie O'Hare

Canadian fuels giant Irving Oil has apologised for a gas oil spillage from its Whitegate refinery into Cork Harbour and says it is still working on containment and cleanup operations.

In a statement late on Wednesday night, the company confirmed that it detected a release of gas oil at its Whitegate refinery in East Cork on Monday.

The statement followed the publication of details of the incident on a section of the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) website earlier.

It included confirmation that an EPA probe into the spillage is underway, and a warning to the public to stay away from and not use the shoreline in the vicinity of Irving Oil until the clean-up has been completed.

While news of the spillage is understood to have been communicated to some local sports clubs, a school and a business, the Green Party expressed concerns about how the details only emerged into the wider public domain three days later.

Cllr Dan Boyle said: “It's worrying that the public is getting to learn about this a number of days after the event. This should be the subject of immediate public notification.” 

'We sincerely apologise'

In its statement, Irving Oil said: “Containment began immediately with remediation equipment and all appropriate authorities were notified.

“We continue to work with external authorities and remediation specialists on recovery efforts in all impacted areas around our refinery.

“This work includes boom equipment and absorbent material to collect product, continual site monitoring and surveying by our employees and external agencies, including ecologists we have retained to ensure the safety and protection of potentially impacted flora and wildlife.

“We value the relationships we have with our communities, and the environment in which we operate, and we appreciate the work of all involved.

“We sincerely apologise for the inconvenience and impact this matter has caused our neighbours.” 

Whitegate Oil Refinery. File picture: Denis Minihane.

The EPA said the spill of gas oil was initially discovered by the company following an inspection at the refinery at 9am on Monday.

It said gas oil had leaked from a small gauge pipe onto a marshy area below it and then into Cork Harbour.

It said a spill response team was mobilised and the leak was contained by 1pm.

The damaged equipment was repaired at 7pm and the company reported the incident to the EPA at 7.25pm.

It said the Port of Cork, Irish Coast Guard, Cork County Council, the Health and Safety Authority and local businesses were also notified.

The EPA said the company began attempts to recover oil from the marshy area and to minimise the extent of impact to the harbour, beaches and surrounding areas, including the use of containment booms.

It said Irving Oil's spill response team is continuing the clean-up and is assessing impacts to the shoreline, waterbody and local ecology.

It also said EPA staff are on-site to investigate the incident and to ensure that appropriate corrective actions are put in place to limit the impact of the spill.

But the EPA’s statement did not include any details on how much gas oil may have leaked, or for how long the leak may have active.

“Additional information will be provided on the EPA website as further updates are received, and a full site inspection report published when available,” the EPA said.

“Once our investigations are completed, the EPA will consider further enforcement action in line with our Compliance and Enforcement Policy.”