An investigation is under way following a gas oil leak into Cork Harbour from the Irving Oil Refinery at Whitegate in east Cork earlier this week.
Members of the public are being advised not to use the shoreline in the vicinity of the refinery until the clean-up is complete following the spill which happened on Monday morning.
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) staff are on site to investigate the incident and ensure that "appropriate corrective actions are put in place to limit the impact of the spill".
In an incident notice published on their site last night, the agency said: "Once their investigations are completed, the EPA will consider further enforcement action in line with our Compliance and Enforcement Policy."
It said a company inspection on site at 9am on Monday had found that an unspecified amount of gas oil had leaked from a small gauge pipe onto a marshy area below it and then into Cork Harbour.
A spill response team contained it by 1pm, and the damaged equipment was repaired at 7pm on Monday.
The gas oil spill was first notified to the EPA at 7.25pm on Monday.
The Port of Cork, Cork County Council, the Health and Safety Authority, the Irish Coast Guard, and local businesses were also contacted.
"The team also began attempts to recover oil from the marshy area and to minimise the extent of impact to the harbour, beaches and surrounding areas, including by means of containment booms," the EPA said.
The company's spill response team continued to carry out clean up operations yesterday, and are assessing the impact of the spill on the shoreline, waterbody and local ecology, the agency added.
In a statement to RTÉ News, a spokeswoman for Irving Oil, headquartered in Canada, confirmed that a release of gas oil was detected at their Whitegate refinery and apologised for "the inconvenience and impact this matter has caused our neighbours".
"Containment began immediately with remediation equipment and all appropriate authorities were notified", she said.
"We continue to work with external authorities and remediation specialists on recovery efforts in all impacted areas around our refinery.
"This work includes boom equipment and absorbent material to collect product, continual site monitoring and surveying by our employees and external agencies, including ecologists we have retained to ensure the safety and protection of potentially impacted flora and wildlife".
"We value the relationships we have with our communities, and the environment in which we operate, and we appreciate the work of all involved.
Social Democrats Councillor Liam Quaide said that locals had reported a very strong odour in the area in recent days.
He welcomed that the EPA is on site and investigating the "need for corrective action following the gas oil spill".
"This is a worrying situation. It is important that residents have clarity on what happened and how it will be addressed as soon as possible."
The EPA said additional information will be provided on its website as further updates are received, and a full site inspection report will be published when available.
