'The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has linked the presence of whitish specks on the grounds of a west Limerick farm with the presence of the nearby Aughinish Alumina plant.
The specks were noticed by a farmer, Mr Liam Somers, on March 11th, the day after an unprecedented loss of power at the plant which is owned by the Swiss resources company, Glencore. This led to two unplanned emissions of material into the atmosphere.
The EPA is continuing an investigation into the events surrounding the 40-minute loss of power.
However, Dr Paul Toner, an EPA programme manager, has told Mr Somers, whose farm is in Ballysteen, six miles to the east of the plant, that there were no signs of damage on the vegetation samples sent to them, "even beneath the white spots".
But Mr Somers believes damage has been caused to his vegetation, pointing to the indentations the specks have left where they were deposited on the blades of grass.
He also refers to the withering of vegetation on his farm, and a bluish discolouration still apparent on grass tips. He does not believe it is due to the strong salt-laden winds which were blowing in March and April.
Dr Toner said his belief that the the deposits may consist of alumina dust, "a relatively inert substance", rather than the other unplanned emission which consisted of droplets of process solution, a strongly alkaline substance consisting of sodium aluminate (20 per cent) and caustic soda (4 per cent).
Analyses of the whitish specks showed the presence of sodium, aluminium, chloride and iron in particular, he said. "While this could reflect a mixture of sea salt and soil particles, it is very likely that some, at least, of the material originated in the Aughinish Alumina plant during the incident on the previous day."
In a report on the incident to the EPA, Aughinish Alumina accepted the possibility that the extra emission of alumina dust might have accounted for the presence of white deposits in the area.
A spokesman, Mr Pat Lynch, said this week that the only damage which occurred as a result of the incident was within the boundaries of the plant as a result of the droplets of process solution being deposited. "There was a small amount of burning of grass and shrubs but that has recovered itself completely."
He said dusting incidents involving inert material had occurred before when electrostatic precipitators did not work properly. "At worst, it is a nuisance. At best, it does no harm to anybody."
He added that damage had been caused to hedgerows from Ballybunion to Limerick from strong sea breezes around the time of the incident.
Mr Somers's farm was one of two at the centre of the EPA-led investigation into mysterious animal deaths in the area. The inter-agency report, published last year, found that pollution levels from Aughinish or the nearby ESB generating stations of Moneypoint and Tarbert were not high enough to cause animal or human illness.
The 59-acre farm overlooking the Shannon Estuary is still being monitored for air and rain quality by the EPA. Mr Somers said the farm, situated in the Golden Vale, should be yielding 900 gallons of milk per cow annually for his herd of 35 cows. In 1990, the yield went down to 350 gallons.
"You might as well have goats out there," his wife, Ms Mary Somers, commented.
In the late 1980s and early 90s they estimate they lost more than 100 cows and calves due to unexplained reasons. She likens their deaths to the wasting away of a person with cancer.
Their farm was visited by the former minister for agriculture, Mr Ivan Yates. But they feel let down by the current Minister, Mr Walsh, who has held the position in two governments.
Mr Somers and the local farming community were incensed by the conclusions reached by the Veterinary Laboratory Service and the Department of Agriculture into the deaths of farm animals. "While it is clear that the two farms suffered an excess of animal disease, straightforward explanations involving the commonly accepted infectious, nutritional and management risk factors can be adduced in the majority of cases," the EPA-commissioned report stated.
Mr Somers, who has lived on the farm all his life and took it over in 1966, points to the damage caused to his grass, which, he estimates, affected about 20 per cent of the crop. "How are animals supposed to survive on that? "They tell you then that Liam Somers is a bad farmer. What is making him a bad farmer, that's all I want to know." Out of 60 farmers in the region, he calculates that just 12 are now involved on a full-time basis. The remainder have opted for retirement schemes.
A fifth-generation farmer on his land, he knows that none of his five children will carry on the tradition. "They have seen we went through too much, they have seen the animals drop down, five or six cows waiting to die."