THE MINISTER for the Environment, John Gormley, last night rejected claims by an environmental group of a cover-up over contamination at the site of the former Irish Ispat steel plant at Haulbowline, Cork Harbour.
Friends of the Irish Environment (FIE) accused Cork County Council, agents for the clean-up by the Department of the Environment, of using “Cabinet confidentiality” to refuse them technical reports.
FIE said yesterday it had received documentation from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), including a fax detailing “emergency response activity” as a result of a contractor’s machinery sinking into a toxic “sludge pit” on February 2nd, 2008.
According to FIE, the fax to the EPA revealed “the contractor had no knowledge that there were oil sludge pits at surface level”, and that the sludge, removed when extracting the vehicle, was later shipped abroad as hazardous waste.
FIE also claimed that a new contractor last month expressed “considerable concern” about “significant levels of hydrocarbon-contaminated mud under the constant influence of tidal movements and percolating rain water”, which needed immediate emergency treatment.
“Every indication is that this is the largest and most extensive pollution incident in the history of the State. The public has the right to know the full extent of the contamination at the site, and the ongoing danger to the public and the environment,” said the FIE.
However, a spokesman for Mr Gormley last night rejected suggestions of a cover-up, and pointed out that it had long been accepted that the Irish Ispat site was among the most heavily-polluted industrial legacy sites in the country.
“It has always been stated that there are significant amounts of waste at the site, which operated as a steel mill for generations, and that has always been recognised, so to suggest that there is some sort of cover-up is completely unfounded and misleading.”
The department had spent considerable resources on preliminary work, and a report would be finalised in the coming months, which Mr Gormley would present to Cabinet in considering future options for the site.
His spokesman said the Minister remained committed to transforming the Haulbowline site from an environmental liability to an asset for the Cork Harbour area.
The incident involving the subcontractor’s machine falling into the sludge came as a result of works by the subcontractor. He had been hired by a contractor who was carrying out preliminary site clearance, including demolition of sheds.