Protests against 'dirty industry' in north Co Mayo are creating a unity of purpose among residents not seen 'since 1798', reports Lorna Siggins

It has been dismissed as one of the most bleak, barren, bare and brooding parts of this small island. But the distinguished botanist and author, Frank Mitchell, warned 15 years ago that the bog of north Co Mayo is "one of Ireland's most dramatic, as well as most fragile, landscapes . . . Cut it, and you may create irreparable changes".

Yet just such a plan of attack appears to have been adopted by developers and planners towards the Erris peninsula. In the words of residents Liam Caffrey and Maura Harrington, and Fine Gael councillor Jarlath Munnelly, there is a growing conviction that north Mayo has been earmarked for nothing more than "dirty industry".

Three projects at various stages of approval have been identified for the region: the Corrib gas terminal at Bellanaboy, the Glancre sludge factory in Geesala, and an asbestos recycling facility at the old Asahi plant in Killala. Throw in Bord na Móna's plan to flood disused bogs as part of the Bellacorick peat station closure, and there is every reason for residents to feel uneasy and insecure. The ESB employees at Bellacorick's power station have secured generous redundancy terms, but what of the future for the area itself?

Recent staff cuts and closures involving Henniges in Ballina and Volex in Castlebar and, most recently, the 325 job losses at Allergan Pharmaceuticals in Westport, have contributed to the view that Mayo as a county is an "employment black spot". So the promise of jobs resulting from the discovery of gas 70 kilometres off the Mayo coast in October 1996 ensured that there was always going to be enthusiastic support for associated development by exploration companies onshore.

Last October's Bord Pleanála ruling in favour of the Corrib gas terminal at Bellanaboy represented one of the final hurdles in the long battle by the gas field's shareholders, now Royal Dutch Shell, along with Marathon and Statoil, to exploit the gas find. Community groups, business representatives and lobby organisations supported the consortium's plans, even though projected employment would involve no more than 50 people once the onshore terminal was built.

There is no guarantee of an automatic gas supply to the west.

A local schoolteacher, Maura Harrington, and Monica Muller had serious concerns about the environmental impact of the onshore pipeline through Broadhaven Bay, a designated special area of conservation. The September 2002 landslides at Dooncarton Mountain, close to the pipeline route, have increased those concerns. Both women, supported by other local residents, have battled against the multinational consortium's plans.

They have been backed by SIPTU's offshore committee representative, Pádraig Campbell, who has continuously questioned the actual benefits of the find to the State, given the generous changes made by former energy minister Ray Burke to offshore exploration licensing terms back in 1987. Currently, the Bellanaboy project is on hold as two judicial reviews have been sought in the High Court, and hearings for both are due later this month.

Then there is the row over Glancre Teo, a sludge plant in nearby Geesala. Glancre, which is part of the Cork-based Oran group, was granted an operating permit by Mayo County Council in 2001 to dry sewage sludge for fertiliser, without any planning approval. It may have seemed like good sense at the time. The premises which the group wanted to use had been lying idle for some years.

However, Mayo County Council's failure to follow proper planning procedures for Glancre has incensed residents. Galvanised by the emission of "intolerable odours" from the factory, the Erris Action Group appealed the case to An Bord Pleanála. The board ruled in 2002 that the project did require planning permission, and Mayo County Council is still deliberating on that approval. Meanwhile, the local authority initiated legal action last August against the owners, demanding that all unauthorised operations cease immediately.

Now a new plan for north Mayo has elicited an extraordinary, and very angry, response. Thirty candles were floated out on the waters of Killala Bay in early December as local residents protested against the 30 jobs offered by a company proposing to set up an asbestos recycling facility at Killala's old Asahi plant.

According to Fine Gael councillor Jarlath Munnelly: "Not since 1798, the year of the French, has there been such a unity of purpose in this area."

The North West Alliance Against Asbestos (NWAAA) estimates that around 2,000 people turned up at Killala Community Centre on a Sunday evening to express concern over the proposal by Irish Environmental Processes (IEP) to seek planning approval for an asbestos recycling plant.

IEP is described as a fully owned Irish company which purchased a licence from ARI Technologies in the US. Heading the company is a qualified vet, James Cahill, who was previously managing director of Progressive Environmental Services, an asbestos "abatement" or removal company. According to an IEP spokesman, the ARI technology has been approved by the European Integrated Pollution and Control Bureau, is favoured by the Dutch government, and has an environmental protection agency licence in the US.

Currently, asbestos waste is not a major problem here, constituting about 1.5 per cent of all hazardous waste, which in turn represents some 0.5 per cent of total waste. Some two-thirds of the 5,000 tonnes generated here annually is exported to Germany, while one-third is sent to landfills in Cork and Kildare. IEP will have the capacity to recycle some 10,000 tonnes of waste asbestos annually, as part of its €10 million investment. The company acknowledges that inhalation of asbestos fibres can cause serious lung disease, but says that all asbestos received in Killala will be wrapped in two layers of 1,000-gauge polythene. So far the technology has not yet been tried in Europe, and the 25,000-square-foot unit at Killala would therefore be the first of its type in the EU.

Only Irish asbestos waste will be processed, there will be no hazardous emissions and no contaminated discharge to water supplies, according to the company, which says it is planning a 10-year operation.

However, the NWAAA is unconvinced. Among its supporters are 20 family doctors and the county coroner, who have expressed concern on health grounds.NWAAA chairman Liam Caffrey says there is no guarantee of 100 per cent conversion every time, and that there will be liquid and gaseous emissions.

Similarly unimpressed is Schutz Ireland Ltd, a company established in March 2000 at the former Asahi plant to produce intermediate bulk containers, mainly for the beverage industry.

"The Asahi site was given clearance by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Approval of IEP here would change the aspect of this site from clean to dirty industry, and could have serious implications for us as we produce a food safety compliant product," says Kieran Quinn, managing director of Shutz Ireland.

And Michael Honan, site manager for the US company, Norbertune, which owns the Asahi site, says: "We are making no judgment on IEP's activities, but a lot of fear has been generated among residents in this community, and Norbertune has conveyed this to IEP in writing."

The NWAAA believes that Ireland should be exploring alternative waste- management policies, including New Zealand's zero waste strategy, and says it made this point in a recent meeting with the Minister for the Environment, Dick Roche. Mayo County Manager Des Mahon says he cannot comment on a project for which a planning application has not been submitted (at time of writing). Even though IEP stresses that it will have to receive both planning and EPA approval, there has been a loss of faith in An Bord Pleanála among members of the NWAAA, due to some of its recent decisions, including approval for waste incinerators in Carranstown, Co Meath, and Ringaskiddy, Co Cork.

Asbestos, gas and sludge: the north Co Mayo battleground

Irish Environmental Processes (IEP), Killala: The Irish company headed by vet James Cahill plans to seek approval from Mayo County Council and the Environmental Protection Agency for asbestos recycling at the former Asahi plant, using technology which has not been tried in Europe. Opposition to it is supported by 20 doctors and a coroner.

Corrib gas, Bellanaboy: An Bord Pleanála granted approval in late October for a proposed refinery at Bellanaboy as part of the 800 million Corrib gas field project. Two judicial reviews of the decision were lodged last month with the High Court by local resident Martin Harrington and environmentalist Peter Sweetman. Mayo County Council says it will continue work on upgrading roads linking the plant in spite of the court applications.

The Harrington application refers to An Bord Pleanála's responsibilities under the European Seveso II directive on major accident hazards and dangerous substances. The Sweetman review questions the failure to order an environmental impact assessment of the entire project, including the construction of the pipeline and terminal and the transfer of some 650,000 cubic metres of peat and material from Bellanaboy to Srahmore 11 kilometres away, under an agreement with Bord na Móna.

Glancre Teo, Geesala: This company was granted an operating permit by Mayo County Council in 2001 to dry sewage sludge for fertiliser, without any planning approval. In 2002, the Erris Action Group appealed the case to An Bord Pleanála, which ruled in 2002 that it did require planning permission. Mayo County Council, which still has to decide on that approval, initiated legal action last August against the owners, demanding that all unauthorised operations cease.