Local authority officials in Wicklow have estimated the weight of illegal hospital waste on a site at Coolamadra near Donard at 8,000 tonnes. The environmental specialists told county councillors at a special meeting this morning that it would cost several million pounds to clean up the site.
Environmental staff confirmed that investigations in the Baltinglass and Blessington areas have led to a possible four more sites in which suspicious material has been found.
Over the past month Wicklow County Council officials have been investigating a number of suspected illegal dumps. The first two to be examined, at Coolamadra, near Baltinglass and at Whitestown on the N81, have yielded huge quantities of hospital theatre waste as well as confidential patient records.
Already bloody bandages and swabs and post-operative materials, including human tissue, have been removed for forensic examination. A further worry is that both dumps border tributaries of the River Slaney which are recognised salmon nurseries...
This morning County Councillors will hold a special meeting to discuss the finds and to update councillors on the legal action being prepared against those involved in the dumping.
It is understood there may be up to 200 illegal dumps in County Wicklow, some of which are believed to contain heavy oils as well as toxic chemicals.
