Smell in Shannon region causes concern

GPs in the Shannon area yesterday urged Clare County Council to identify the smell that has caused concern to communities living along the Shannon estuary over the past six weeks.

The smell was first detected in the area on November 14th and has since been detected in Ennis and Limerick city.

Despite investigations by the county council, it has yet to identify the odour and its source.

Dr Michael Linnane said yesterday that a lot of his patients complained of a burning sensation on their tongues or at the back of the their throats when the smell was present in the air.

He said: "Surprisingly, there has been no increase in illness. Everyone is concerned at the smell, and at times it is overpowering and very unpleasant.

"We are in limbo. The council say it is not a noxious smell, but cannot say for sure where it is coming from, so no guarantees can be given, and people are extremely worried about it.

Another Shannon GP, Dr Peter Flynn, said he had had a number of his patients complaining of the smell, but had not noticed any increase in his workload.

He said: "The smell is most unusual. It can appear any time of day or night.

"It is how damp clothes would smell after leaving them untouched for a couple of days."

Both doctors urged the council to definitively identify the smell to ease public concern.

An Ennis businessman, Mr Philip O'Reilly, criticised the lack of public information from the council on the issue.

He said: "The smell is present some days in Ennis and it is very worrying that no one knows what it is."

Since the smell was first noticed last November the council, with the help of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), has investigated several possible sources in the Shannon area, including industries, major road and construction projects and farming activities.

In a statement yesterday the acting environment director with Clare County Council, Mr Sean Ward, said: "The most probable cause is rotting vegetable matter in drainage channels".

He said that In consultation with the EPA and the Mid-Western Health Board, the council was satisfied that the odour did not pose any health threat to people in the area and was keeping the situation under constant review.

The occurrence of the odour had been mapped and found to be adjacent to openings of drainage channels, discharging to the Shannon estuary.

He added: "The odour abated during the period of low temperature in mid-December.

"This is consistent with reduction in bacterial activity at lower temperatures."