Tramore landfill,Contained toxic compound
Waterford County Council has confirmed that the hazardous material put into its landfill site at Tramore was the toxic compound creosote. The Council says that a tanker containing up to 250 gallons of effluent was responsible for bringing the material into the dump, and quantified the amount of creosote involved as "about a small skip load".
The material will be going to a special disposal facility in due course. It says the question of the cost of dealing with the illegal dumping will be examined and that "appropriate legal steps will be taken in due course".
The Council took samples from the landfill over the weekend after RTÉ News confirmed that a tanker containing effluent generated by a container cleaning company in Belview Harbour had left hazardous material there.
A Council spokesman claimed the driver of the tanker was given access to the landfill after providing information that the material did not constitute a hazard. He maintained that the Council was "wholly convinced" that there had been no leakage of material from the landfill to either the sea or near-by wetlands.
The Environmental Protection Agency confirmed last week that creosote was present at the depot run by Belview Container Cleaners Ltd. The Director of the company, Maurice Downey, is a former Lord Mayor of Waterford.
The EPA also found evidence of the toxic compound at nearby Frank Cassin Wharf, where Waterford City Council believes effluent from the depot was dumped on a regular basis into the River Suir. Creosote contains phenol which, if ingested, may be lethal or result in paralysis, coma, and respiratory arrest.
