The planned clean-up of the former Irish Ispat plant at Haulbowline Island in Cork Harbour took another step forward yesterday with the completion of a contract for the removal of all remaining plant and machinery.
Auctioneers Lisney, acting on behalf of the State, completed the contract yesterday with Hammond Lane metal company to remove all remaining plant and machinery as well as the metal content of the buildings at the steel mill.
Confirmation of the completion follows some eight months of consultation with Hammond Lane and comes one week after environmental engineers moved on to the site to carry out a survey on what the clean-up operation will entail.
Consultants White Young Green have been hired by Cork County Council - who are agents for the Department of the Environment - to carry out a series of tests and present a report on what is required to rehabilitate the site.
Trial pits and bore holes will be sunk on the island over the coming weeks to test for contamination while four holes will be drilled offshore to test for contaminants leaching into the seabed.
Air quality monitoring stations have also been set up on Haulbowline and Cobh to monitor dust levels during testing, which is expected to last two months and which will provide the council with specific data on contamination levels on the island.
The steel mill was established on the island as a private company in 1939 but was later nationalised and became Irish Steel, only to be bailed out throughout the 1980s and 1990s when the State invested some £200 million in the ageing steel plant.
The State sold it to Indian billionaire Lakshmi Mittal for £1 in 1995, when it became Irish Ispat, but Mr Mittal failed to invest in the mill as promised and he shut down the plant in June 2001 with the loss of some 450 jobs.
Yesterday the Minister of State at the Department of the Environment, Batt O'Keeffe, welcomed the completion of the contract with Hammond Lane and described it as "a major step towards the rehabilitation of the site".