Dublin Corporation is investigating the illegal dumping of surgical equipment and medical documents on a bonfire in Drimnagh.
The company responsible for the material said that scissors, tubes and other pieces of medical equipment had been inadvertently packed with old paperwork, which was being taken to the dump.
Local children had gathered to celebrate Halloween at Dolphin Road in Drimnagh. Their parents became concerned when they saw boxes being taken from a Ford transit van and being put on the bonfire.
They confronted the driver and found that documents to and from hospitals had been dumped on the fire. Further examination revealed surgical equipment was also left in the area where dozens of children were playing ahead of the celebrations.
A Dublin Corporation waste expert who was sent to the scene concluded that the items were being transported by a company from south county Dublin and should not have been dumped. Some of the documents related to Waterford Regional Hospital and the Midlands Health Board.
A spokesman for the medical equipment supply company Eurosurgical said that the surgical equipment had been certified decontaminated and had been inadvertently misplaced with old paperwork, none of which contained confidential patient information.
The spokesman said that the company's driver thought he was helping the children by dumping old documents onto their bonfire. He said that they would be paying a litter fine and unreservedly apologised for any concern caused by the incident.
