Masonite faces EPA pressure over pollution discharge level

Masonite Ireland is having difficulty remaining within pollution discharge limits at its plant on the Shannon at Drumsna, Co Leitrim, and the Environmental Protection Agency says it may prosecute the company if the problem is not cleared up.

The discharges involve formaldehyde, a colourless, pungent smelling gas which, according to studies, is a potential human carcinogen. It arises during the manufacture of the company's range of resin-based door facings and is vented from four discharge points inside the plant.

While the company remained below its "overall mass level" for formaldehyde, two of the four discharge points had occasionally risen above permitted levels, according to the EPA.

"There have been problems with these emission points," said an EPA spokeswoman. "If the problem isn't rectified, we would consider prosecuting them. We have no information about a new problem but we are also getting weekly results from Masonite's environmental monitoring."

Monitoring would normally be done monthly, but since August the EPA had asked for weekly monitoring samples. The EPA added that the limits were well below those set by the World Health Organisation and so did not represent a risk to employees or to the public.

A company spokesman acknowledged that there had been a problem, but it had begun a programme of work to rectify the situation and the EPA was aware of the problem. "The plant is operating within the limits of the IPC (Integrated Pollution Control) licence," he said.

The formaldehyde is a by-product of Masonite's production process, he said. It is driven off during a heating process and is vented under the terms of its IPC licence. It did not reach outside the plant, he said.

There had been "peaks" on several occasions, he said, putting this down to the newness of the plant, which began operations only last January. The company's IPC licence also provides for liquid discharges into the Shannon, but these and other discharges remain within limits.

The plant employs 310 people and exports its door facings to 30 countries.

Formaldehyde is one of the most commonly used chemicals and is found in many products used in house-building. It is found in the cloth additives that make clothing and curtains "permanent-press"; as a component in glues and adhesives; and as an embalming agent used by undertakers. Tobacco smoke also contains formaldehyde.

In concentrations as low as one per 10 million it can cause watery eyes, burning sensations in the eyes and throat, nausea and, in higher concentrations, asthma attacks.