THE STATE is being urged to acquire a highly-toxic mine dump in north Tipperary so that it can be properly monitored to avoid "perpetual" risk to human and animal health.
North Tipperary County Council has asked the Government to initiate a compulsory purchase order to acquire the 140-acre tailings pond site at Gortmore, near the village of Silvermines.
The facility, which was used by Mogul of Ireland up to the early 1980s when it ceased mining, was described by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as "a perpetual risk to human and animal health".
Karl Cashen, the council's director of environmental services, said it had been accepted by the council and the Government that the land should be in State ownership so proper monitoring could take place. A commitment by the Government in 2005 to spend €10.6 million on rehabilitating six old mine dumps in the Silvermines area was still in place.
Work is expected to start this summer on the rehabilitation of the Gortmore site, but it has been discovered that the original cost of making the site safe will be considerably above the estimate.
Dust containing lead and other toxic substances used in mining have been blowing on to surrounding lands over the past 25 years, and animal deaths due to lead poisoning have been reported. Mogul of Ireland is now in liquidation and the Department of Natural Resources has been discussing the site with the liquidator.
Michael Leamy, a spokesman for Gortmore Environmental Action Group, said they had commissioned an expert study that showed there were 18 different carcinogenic substances in the dust blowing on to farmlands from the Gortmore tailings pond.
"We feel there is a lot of cancer in the area as a result, but we have no figures to back it up."