No ‘do not drink’ notices have ever been imposed on public water supplies due to toxic chemical levels

No “do not drink” public health notices have ever had to be issued due elevated levels of toxic trihalomethanes (THMs) in Irish drinking water supplies, Uisce Éireann has said.

The water utility, however, has undertaken to issue explanatory booklets with revised advice to 297,000 people served by 25 water supplies in 15 counties where continuing high levels of the toxic chemical are occurring.

This follows a European Court of Justice finding in January against Ireland, which said “the failure to comply with the parametric value set for THMs constitutes, by definition, a potential danger to human health”.

The long-running case stemmed from complaints to the European Commission by Friends of the Irish Environment (FIE).

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[ Explainer: What are THMs and what risks do they pose in Irish water? ]

THMs, which can arise as a byproduct of chlorination at treatment plants where there is significant levels of organic matter, have been linked to cancer – especially of the bladder – in the event of long-term exposure and to other health problems. It is also considered an environmental threat.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the HSE and Uisce Éireann have yet to agree on revised advice that will be issued to households, a spokesman for the utility confirmed on Tuesday. The clear advice from the HSE on THMs and drinking water is that the “benefits of using chlorine to treat our drinking water are much greater than any possible health risk from THMs”, he added.

This was also the position of the World Health Organisation which said “adequate disinfection should never be compromised to control THMs”.

“When our monitoring programmes detect THM levels above the allowable limit (100 microgrammes per litre), Uisce Éireann notifies the EPA and consults with the HSE. To date, a ‘do not drink’ notice has not been imposed on any public water supply due to THM exceedances,” a spokesperson said.

FIE issued legal proceedings in February requiring the EPA to notify all affected consumers of the potential danger to human health from THMs and its cause, and “of the exceedance of a parametric value and of the remedial actions taken, including prohibition or restriction of use or other action”.

It called on the EPA to give, and regularly update, the necessary advice to consumers on conditions of consumption and use of the water, “taking particular account of population groups with increased water-related health risks”.

In its response issued on Friday, the EPA said it “has consistently given enforcement attention to the issue of THMs in drinking water through our data reporting, our remedial action list, our enforcement actions against Uisce Éireann and our communications work in drawing attention to the affected supplies and the urgent need for remedial action”.

FIE spokesman Tony Lowes said it still believed the EPA was not meeting the requirements of the EU drinking water directive and it was too soon to withdraw their legal threat.

“My own concern is that suddenly the ‘long term’ impact, which they have acknowledged since 2012 as a reason for not being worried, has disappeared altogether,” he added. “Anyone who has been exposed to high levels of THM since we reported it in 2011 should be screened for bladder cancer.”

Uisce Éireann said it was engaging with the HSE and EPA on further communication with customers on public water supplies on the RAL due to THM levels exceeding EU drinking water standards.

The vast majority of public water schemes identified by the court have been addressed, a spokesman said – “with just five of the original 74 schemes remaining”. Projects are under way at all five locations to address the issues through upgrades or rationalisation of existing treatment plants.

The 25 supplies with THM problems include some large regional supplies and others serving substantial numbers of consumers. The largest is Limerick environs which supplies 115,000 people. Other large supplies that are exposed are Listowel, Co Kerry (14,900 people) and parts of Kilkenny city (14,000) as well as Thurles (11,000) and Nenagh (14,000) in Co Tipperary.

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