Engineers from Louth County Council yesterday began work to make safe toxic waste on the site of the illegal diesel "washing" operation uncovered by Customs officers at the Border.
The council is expected to hire a licensed company to deal with the waste left over from the process of removing dye from domestic and agricultural oil with acid.
The waste is highly toxic and is a threat to both human and animal life.
The council may also begin proceedings to recover the costs of safely removing the waste. Prosecutions can be brought under Waste Management legislation.
Customs officials and gardaí are involved in drawing up files for the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) with a view to prosecuting the people in charge of the illegal operation, which had the capacity to process between 300,000 and 400,000 litres of fuel a week.
The operation had been on site since last November and could net profits of up to €100,000 a week.
The major concern about the illegal processing of diesel oil, "marked" with dyes for the domestic heating and agricultural markets, is the toxic waste.
The highly toxic by-product, a black sludge, is believed to be disposed of secretly in unregulated dumps by the criminal groups involved.
Louth County Council has had to deal with three or four other operations after similar seizures by Customs and gardaí in recent years. However, it is known that the practice of washing diesel is widespread in the Border area and there are concerns about the illegal dumping of the toxic waste.
Gardaí suspect that a number of people who have been involved in fuel smuggling crime for a number of years were responsible for the illegal factory at Carrickedmond, Kilcurry, north of Dundalk and only half a mile from the Border. One person has connections with the Provisional IRA.
The process of adding acid to "marked" diesel to remove dye and then distilling it to remove the acid is dangerous to the health of the people involved in the process as well as producing an environmental hazard. Two men involved in the Carrickedmond operation are understood to be suffering from serious chest illness.