Dáil Éireann debate -
Tuesday, 10 Oct 1995

Vol. 456 No. 6

Adjournment Debate. - British Munitions Dumping off Irish Coast.

Mr. E. Byrne

I thank the Minister for coming in at this late hour to deal with this very important issue.

As with most scandals, the truth about British munitions dumping has been drip-fed to the public, both here and in the United Kingdom. It is disturbing it is now emerging that over one million tonnes of munitions, including highly toxic matter such as phosphorous incendiaries, were dumped in sites such as the Beaufort Dyke off the Irish coast since World War II and very probably since 1920.

It has also emerged that in 1981 Beaufort Dyke, which is a 1,500 foot trench in the sea bed which lies between Scotland and Ireland, was used as a dump for 2,517 tonnes of toxic waste when a vessel originally destined for deeper, and supposedly safer waters on the Atlantic shelf was forced to turn back. The scandal does not end there. It was reported over the weekend that the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Commission may have misled the International Atomic Energy Authority by forwarding official documents claiming that the waste had reached its intended destination in the Atlantic Shelf rather than being dumped, as it was, off the Irish coast. We now learn that British Gas may be considering building a pipeline in the Beaufort Dyke area. Gas, munitions, phosphorous and nuclear waste will lie in close proximity to each other. This makes for an explosive combination.

The Irish people are not merely disinterested spectators watching a growing scandal unfold on the other side of the Irish Sea, because the dumping of munitions and nuclear waste off the Irish coast affects us all. It is incumbent on the Irish Government to seek full clarification from the UK authorities regarding the quantities dumped, the safety procedures, if any, observed at the time of dumping, and whether the UK authorities acted in accordance with international procedures and regulations, not only in regard to the dumping, but in regard to disclosure.

We also need full information regarding the chemical composition and the projected stability or otherwise of the items dumped. For example, just how impermeable and long lasting are the concrete casings supposedly containing the nuclear waste? Will the Minister inform the House whether the dumped munitions included any chemical or biological weapons or their by-products, and if so, in what quantities they were dumped? What, if any, contingency plans have been formulated by the UK authorities to ensure environmental and public safety as these munitions become increasingly unstable with the passage of time?

I do not doubt that the Minister shares the concerns, not only of Members but of the public and I hope he will seek clarification from the UK authorities as well as making representations in the appropriate international fora. I would appreciate the Minister addressing this in a very serious way and I look forward to his response.

Mr. Gilmore

I thank Deputy Byrne for raising this matter. The Department of the Marine has been in touch with the corresponding UK authorities over a period of time regarding these various matters and has been informed that the Ministry of Defence (MOD) used to undertake sea dumping of chemical weapon stocks and conventional munitions as means of disposing of redundant and surplus stocks and dealing with the legacy of weapons produced in the World Wars.

According to the information made available some 150,000 tonnes of obsolete chemical munitions were dumped at sea in the aftermath of both World Wars in locations situated 200 miles to the south-west, of Ireland and 65 miles to the north-west, in both cases in very deep water going down to depths of 4,500 meters.

As regards the Beaufort Dyke, the information made available to us was that this location (a long, deep trench up to 900 feet in depth on the Scottish side of the North Channel) was used historically until 1973 for the disposal of conventional munitions ranging from small arms ammunition to large calibre artillery and naval shells to heavy aerial bombs. We have been informed that the only dumping of chemical munitions at this site was in 1947 when 14,000 tonnes of phosgene-charged materials were disposed of there.

The UK authorities have given assurances at all times that no dumping of nuclear material or material containing heavy metals has taken place either at Beaufort Dyke or the other dump sites mentioned.

I am concerned at recent reports that radioactive and other waste materials may have been dumped by the UK authorities at these various sites in recent decades and I have written to the UK Secretary of State for Defence asking for urgent clarification of the reports in question. I have stressed the public disquiet that the suggested disposal operations give rise to here both in terms of environmental damage and public health and have asked in particular to be provided with the following information in respect of the dumping in question: the exact location of the dumping operations, the volumes, nature, radioactivity, casing etc., of the material involved; an assessment of their present state, their likely impact on the local and Irish Sea environment generally; the steps the UK Government have taken, or intend to take, to monitor the materials, sites and contiguous marine conditions, and the measures the UK Government plan to implement to minimise any adverse impact the materials are having, or are likely to have, on the areas.

I assure the Deputy that I will follow up this matter closely with a view to obtaining disclosure of the full facts.

The Dáil adjourned at 9.25 p.m. until 10.30 a.m. on Wednesday, 11 October 1995.