Dáil Éireann debate -
Thursday, 20 May 1993

Vol. 431 No. 2

Adjournment Debate. - County Roscommon Dump Site.

Mr. Connor

I am delighted on my sixth attempt to have his opportunity to raise the matter in the House. It arises out of a disastrous fire at the UMP meat plant in Ballaghaderreen about one and a half years ago, in January 1992. It is estimated that the cost of the damage amounted to £50 million, £35 million of which related to the destruction of almost 12,000 tonnes of boned out frozen intervention beef.

A relatively small amount of meat was destroyed in the fire. In addition, only a small amount was deemed suitable for removal for rendering. Therefore, about 10,000 tonnes of charred and water and smoke damaged meat had to be disposed of quickly.

Emergency discussions on disposal of this meat took place immediately. Party to these discussions were Roscommon County Council, the Western Health Board, the Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry and in particular the then Minister for Agriculture, Deputy Woods, who visited the site and promised that "everything possible would be done on the hour and by the hour" to deal with the consequences of the fire.

Two days after the fire was extinguished the meat and debris were removed to a temporary site at Rahanmore, near Kilbeggan, County Westmeath. This gave rise to an immediate local protest as the site was a disused sand pit. Under threat of a High Court injunction dumping at the site was stopped after about 400 tonnes has been buried there.

It was then suggested and widely felt that the remainder of the meat and debris would be brought to the purpose built landfill containment dump at Ballydonagh, Athlone. Instead it was announced that a new site had been found at Cregga Hill, near Strokestown. We were told then that the site has been examined by the county council, by the health board and a senior official of the Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry, all of whom found it suitable. It is very difficult to understand how it could have been deemed suitable given the location of the Cregga site which is one of the highest elevations in County Roscommon with a highly sensitive, surrounding environment consisting of the Killglass Lakes, which are part of the Shannon system, approximately three miles to the east.

Perhaps even more sensitive is the location approximately one mile south of the site, Lisheen Lake, which is used as an unfiltered source of water supply for the County Roscommon north east regional water scheme at present serving approximately 100 households. On the northern and western side of the site, only a few hundred metres off, is the large commercial Laragon Stone Quarry where large-scale blasting takes place regularly. These blasting operations, of their nature and because of their proximity to the site, cause underground disturbances, like seismic movements that are bound to affect the site.

There have been many local protests about this dump since it was established. At a very minimum, locals felt that some form of environmental impact assessment should have been carried out on the site, given its very sensitive nature, before such a location would be used for this dump. I might point out that it is the largest meat dump of its kind in Europe. Last summer many surrounding water supplies were found to have been contaminated. It is difficult to link the contamination with the dump. Nevertheless, this contamination has never been noticed before. Naturally it gave rise to great concern locally in relation to health.

The Minister of State at the Department of the Environment, Deputy Browne, was the first member of the Government to recognise the difficulty this is causing local people, on which I might compliment him. Indeed, he visited the site on 19 April last when he had an opportunity of seeing its location, elevation, its surrounding environment and its contents. All the relevant points were put to the Minister of State on the day he met local residents, myself and others. However, the matter raised repeatedly with him was the lack of local consultation beforehand — perhaps that was a difficulty — and afterwards.

Will the Minister of State agree to finance an environmental impact assessment of this site so that we can determine whether it is having a damaging effect on the surrounding environment.

Minister of State at the Department of the Environment (Mr. Browne

, Wexford): I thank Deputy Connor for raising this issue.

The disposal of the large quantity of meat damaged in the major fire last year at Ballaghaderreen, understandably, has given rise to certain environmental and health concerns. The emergency which arose was unusual and necessitated prompt action by Roscommon County Council at a number of levels. I consider it important to give a brief summary of the background and the sequence of events. This bears out the view that the matter has been competently and responsibly handled by Roscommon County Council, that the locals, in particular, can take confidence from this and from the continuous monitoring.

After the fire, an exceptionally large volume of charred meat required urgent disposal in the interests of public health. In view of the emergency nature of the situation, immediate action was required. Most of the meat was disposed of by rendering but 4,500 tonnes approximately was considered unsuitable for rendering because it was contaminated by building debris and so on and was disposed of by burial in a site at Cregga.

Roscommon County Council decided that the Cregga site, and the disposal arrangements proposed there, represented the option most likely, in the circumstances, to minimise dangers to human health and the environment following investigation of a number of sites in County Roscommon and neighbouring counties. A subsequent survey by a firm of hydrogeological consultants engaged by the county council confirmed this view. The need to monitor the environmental effects of the disposal operation was accepted by the county council and a monitoring regime was put in place.

Leachate extraction and venting of decomposition gases is still continuing at the site as recommended by the consultants. Eight boreholes were drilled around the site. Monitoring of these, and a number of other wells and surface waters in the area, is ongoing.

Concerns have been expressed that leachate from the site has caused contamination of surrounding groundwater. Monitoring by the Western Health Board of samples from boreholes indicated that some contamination did occur. The health board has concluded however, that this contamination arose from the spreading of agricultural slurry in the vicinity of the site, not from the waste disposal operations. The county manager agreed to set up a monitoring committee, consisting of representatives of the Western Health Board, Roscommon County Council and the local residents' committee to assess the results of monitoring, although the residents' committee declined to participate.

Statutory responsibility for waste management and planning, including the selection and operation of waste disposal sites, is vested in each local authority.

The crucial point is that all aspects of the handling of the matter are the responsibility of the local authority and, desirably, grievances should be resolved at that level. Of course, the need to monitor the effects of the disposal operation is without question. This is being undertaken by the county council with independent advice from the health board. The council has always been available to meet the residents and to discuss their worries and concerns. The Department's role is one of advice and guidance. It is satisfied that Roscommon County Council has met their responsibilities in this case.

I fully appreciate the concerns of local residents for reassurance that this site poses no threat now or will in the future to the health or environment of their area. It is right that this reassurance should continue to be given for as long as necessary, through the rigorous monitoring regime which is in place. If this monitoring discloses any adverse trends, attributable to the waste disposal, I can assure the Deputy that remedial action will be taken.

As Deputy Connor stated, I visited the site approximately six weeks ago and I met the residents and others. I also met the county manager who has since forwarded me documentation, with reports from Mr. T. D. Fehily, a public analyst and Professor John Flynn, consultant bacteriologist, from University College Galway. I intend to seek further reports from him within the next couple of weeks to ensure that the monitoring continues. I will keep Deputy Connor informed of developments. I told the residents, when I visited the site, that they would need some evidence to demonstrate that there is a problem there because our advice from the experts is that there is not one. That must be clarified. I will keep Deputy Connor informed as we receive reports from Roscommon County Council.