Odour consultant appointed to trace smell in Shannon

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) yesterday announced it has appointed a Dutch-based odour consultant in an effort to identify the source of a mystery smell that has afflicted the Shannon area since last November.

Over the past seven months, a dank musty smell has persisted in the greater Shannon area, provoking hundreds of complaints from businesses and residents to Clare County Council.

Independent councillor Ms Patricia McCarthy said yesterday: "The smell has persisted here this week. People are afraid of the possible health implications. We are told not to worry by the authorities, but they can't tell us what it is."

She said: "It is an obnoxious, revolting smell. It is faint at the moment, but that is no guarantee that it is going away because it has been faint before and come back stronger." Cllr McCarthy said, however: "It appears that resources are at long last being put in place by the EPA to identify the source of the smell."

In recent days, the EPA has sent a letter to each of the complainants in the Shannon area outlining the actions it has taken to date to identify the smell and resolve the problem.

Part of the EPA's investigation has focused on a pharmaceutical plant in Shannon. However, the EPA report states that a consultant's report submitted at the end of January found no scientific basis for linking the plant with the general "musty" smell affecting the surrounding area.

The report, however, did find that the plant's waste water continued to be the source of an odour problem.

In a statement yesterday, Schwarz Pharma Ltd said that it was pleased to note that the EPA statement confirmed that no scientific evidence has been found to link it to the source of the odour.

Earlier this year, the company avoided a potential shutdown of its chemical production plant after the EPA agreed to set aside the terms of a notice requiring Schwarz Pharma Ltd to shut its waste-water effluent treatment plant in an effort to prevent or limit further air pollution from its production facility.

Schwarz Pharma Ltd - which employs 250 people at its Shannon base - has denied any link between its chemical processes and the mystery smell that has afflicted Shannon since last November.

It confirmed yesterday that it has agreed with the EPA again to completely sanitise the plant's waste-water treatment plant and remove and dispose of all its sludge.

The statement says: "Both the EPA and Schwarz Pharma Ltd are satisfied that the measures implemented by the company are the correct ones to deal with the localised odour."

The EPA states that its inspectors have agreed a number of steps with the company, while adding that it has engaged the services of an odour consultant, OdourNet, to identify the source of the smell in the Shannon area.