A report on environmental concerns surrounding the Aughinish Alumina plant in Co Limerick is being prepared by an independent expert appointed by the United Nations (UN).
Astrid Puentes Riaño, UN special rapporteur on the human right to a healthy environment, visited the area surrounding the plant earlier this year and interviewed locals about concerns regarding soil, air and water contamination.
Following the visit, she called for a “thorough inquiry” by the Government into the environmental impact of the plant, which sits on the Shannon estuary.
A spokeswoman for Riaño confirmed she is preparing a report on the plant, along with other areas of environmental concern in Ireland. This will be completed by December and submitted to the UN Human Rights Council next March, she said.
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The report is another potential headache for the management of Aughinish and its owners, the Russian metals conglomerate Rusal.
The Government is finalising its own investigation into the ultimate destination of exports from the Limerick plant.
This began following the publication last March of an Irish Times investigation, carried out in co-operation with the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project, which detailed the downstream role Aughinish plays in the supply chain of the Russian military.
It revealed that Aughinish Alumina is shipping vast amounts of alumina to smelters in Russia, where it is turned into aluminium. These smelters then sell finished aluminium to a Moscow-based trading company, which supplies much of the Russian arms industry.
Minister for Enterprise Peter Burke has said “action will have to be taken” if Irish alumina is found to be going into Russian weapons.
Separately, the High Court last week quashed a decision by An Coimisiún Pleanála to grant permission to Aughinish Alumina to extend its waste storage area by eight million cubic metres. This area is used to store bauxite residue waste, also known as red mud, the main byproduct from alumina production.
[ High Court quashes planning permission for Aughinish Alumina to extend waste areaOpens in new window ]
The existing storage area, which sits on 184 hectares, is almost full. The plant has previously said it will have to cease operations by 2030 if it is not allowed to increase waste capacity.
Environmental campaigners have long said the waste products pose risks to animal and human health in the area. This is denied by the plant and government inspectors.
Environmental Trust Ireland, which successfully challenged the planning application, also alleges heavy metals from the plant pose a risk to drinking water and marine life.
In a preliminary report following her visit in February, the UN rapporteur said she was informed “of environmental and human rights concerns linked to Aughinish Alumina Ltd, particularly related to contamination of soil, water and air”.
She said local communities have reported “serious detrimental impacts on both human and animal health” since the 1980s, shortly after the plant opened.
Riaño referenced an investigation by the Environmental Protection Agency carried out in the 1990s, which did not find any adverse environmental impacts arising from the plant.
However, she said she has been informed that this investigation did not properly assess the alumina plant as a potential causal factor, nor did it analyse exposure to highly toxic substances.
“The inquiry also omitted or lost key biological and environmental data. Independent scientific research later described the human health component of the inquiry as poorly designed and incapable of ruling out pollution-related harm,” she wrote.
“Affected families mentioned that they lost their livelihoods and suffered long-term health consequences.”
She said existing air pollution monitoring “is not clear despite the evident risks the facility has” and that current regulations “do not include measures that assess the potential link of the refinery with impacts on human and environmental health”.
During her visit, Riaño also visited other areas of environmental concern, including data centres in Dublin.
