Landfill to be checked for hazardous waste

A landfill site in Co Waterford will be tested for potentially hazardous waste today by the Environmental Protection Agency.

A landfill site in Co Waterford will be tested for potentially hazardous waste today by the Environmental Protection Agency.

The detailed analysis of samples from Tramore landfill is part of an investigation by Waterford County Council into reports of unauthorised dumping there of waste material which is possibly hazardous.

The council, which operates the coastal landfill, said yesterday that initial tests of samples of surface water from the site perimeter did not contain any traces of hazardous materials such as creosote, a wood preservative.

While the environmental group Coastwatch issued warnings over the weekend about the impact of the incident, a council spokesman said there was still "no reason for any public concern".

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The spokesman said the council had not been contacted directly about the allegation of unauthorised dumping of potentially hazardous material in the landfill site, which is not authorised to accept such material. The site records would be examined today for evidence that a tanker had brought potentially hazardous material to the site, he added.

Ms Karin Dubsky from Coastwatch called for an urgent independent inquiry into the alleged incident and any links with the earlier dumping of sludge containing creosote in Belview Harbour in Waterford.