Chemical plant is identified as source of smell

A Shannon chemical manufacturing plant was served with a non-compliance notice by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) after being identified as one source of a number of odours affecting the area.

Located in the Shannon Free Zone, SIFA Ltd was told yesterday by the EPA to take steps to prevent further emissions from its plant; the agency warned that more enforcement action could result, arising from a detected unlicensed emission from its plant earlier this month.

Since last November Shannon and surrounding areas have been subjected to a continuing dank odour, while since late December there have been complaints of a second more pungent odour, which causes irritation of the nose and throat.

The local council admitted yesterday that it was no nearer identifying the source of the smell in November, after discounting a previously held theory. However, the EPA has traced the more recent odour to SIFA's operations.

The EPA said yesterday it first received complaints in relation to that smell on December 30th, and inspectors visited the SIFA site in recent days to investigate.

The agency said yesterday that SIFA was now giving its full co-operation in the matter. In a statement SIFA said: "As a result of the incident, it is determined to be more vigilant in activities which generate odours, and all employees have been reminded of the need to be alert to the possibilities of odours getting off-site". SIFA has been in Shannon since 1977 and employs 265 people.

In response, the chairwoman of the council's environment policy committee, Cllr Patricia McCarthy (Ind), welcomed the action taken by the EPA.

She said: "The SIFA smell is a sharper, more pungent smell than the one that has been there since last November. Just because the source of this odour has been identified, we can't afford to take our eye off the ball over the other odour."

The council's executive chemist, Ms Mary Burke, said the council had received just under 160 documented complaints from the greater Shannon area about smells since November 14th.

The council had also received complaints about smells from Ennis (20), Newmarket-on-Fergus (11), Cratloe (11), Limerick city (19) and Ballina, Co Tipperary (2).

For some weeks the council has been saying that the source of the smell is likely to be decomposing vegetable matter along the Shannon estuary.

However, Ms Burke said yesterday it was no longer satisfied with that theory.

"The source of the smell is still eluding us unfortunately. We have to take into account the length of time it has been going on and the fact that such a smell has not been reported elsewhere in the country," she said. The council's suspicions still lay with water movements in the estuary.

She said: "We are doing our best and are continuing to take samples."

The council was yesterday putting in place public information stands in the Shannon area tracing reports of the smells to date and investigations carried out.