ISPAT, which announced the closure of its Cork steel plant with the loss of 400 jobs, was operating an unlicensed hazardous waste dump, The Irish Times has learned. The authorities had been preparing to close the dump at Haulbowline island.
When the closure decision was made public last Friday, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was drawing up an integrated pollution licence for the Indian-owned plant. This would have led to the closure of the on-site dump and enforcement of numerous environmental provisions involving the company in considerable cost.
The EPA licence would have ordered the company to discontinue disposal of hazardous waste adjacent to the plant from the date of issue of the licence and forced it to remove materials and transport them off site for treatment and disposal.
The licence states: "The disposal of hazardous waste by onsite landfilling shall discontinue from the date of grant of this licence. The disposal of scale, scale sludge and furnace dust by on-site landfilling shall discontinue from the date of grant of this licence . . . All furnace dust previously deposited on the surface of the landfill shall be collected and placed in sealed containers and sent off site for disposal . . . the licensee shall submit a detailed site investigation strategy incorporating a programme with reporting targets, aimed at assessing the nature and composition of wastes deposited in all formerly operational areas of the landfill . . ."
The EPA was concerned about the extent of hazardous waste dumping at the ISPAT site and was determined to force the company to close the dump, prepare a plan for treatment of the cleared site and bear all the costs which, according to some industry sources, would have run to many millions of pounds.
If ISPAT leaves Cork, the EPA will have to deal with the dump site as a priority. It is understood there is no containment measure to prevent toxic materials from leaching into the sea across the harbour from Cobh.
According to the draft licence, the EPA was preparing to order the company to produce a full record of the depth and extent of the site, to carry out a biological assessment of the harbour sediments adjacent to the landfill, and to confirm, in writing, the acceptance and disposal or recovery of hazardous waste sent off site. The EPA was also to be notified if any waste consignments were rejected. As there is no hazardous waste incinerator in Ireland, ISPAT would have been forced to ship the waste to Britain or Europe.
The scope of the site has not been quantified and may have pre-dated ISPAT's takeover of the company five years ago. If so, toxic materials may have been dumped there during the previous four decades when the company was State-owned and under Irish Steel management.
While the EPA yesterday would not discuss details of an individual licence, a spokesman said it had dealt with companies whose Irish operations had finished, leaving a contaminated site behind. It was the norm for such companies to make money available to remove hazardous waste and have it treated abroad or encased in concrete.
It is understood that between June 1st and August 15th last year the EPA placed a mobile monitoring unit at the Irish Naval headquarters on Haul bow line, adjacent to ISPAT. Monitoring showed the mean daily value for the emission of PMs1]s0] particles - tiny specks of dust which contain traces of metal - were exceeded 22 times. The upper assessment threshold was breached on 32 days while the lower assessment threshold was exceeded on 47 days.
New scientific analysis of PMs1]s0] particles has led to fears that unless strictly contained, they may lead to bronchial problems such as asthma.