Suspect material dumped at Tramore landfill this month is similar to hazardous waste illegally deposited into the river Suir at Waterford Harbour, it was confirmed yesterday.
Waterford County Council, however, said there was "no reason for public concern" over the dumping at Tramore, which its officials have been investigating since Saturday.
The Irish Times confirmed last week that thousands of tonnes of sludge, including hazardous chemicals, had been dumped into the Suir at Frank Cassin wharf in Waterford without a discharge licence.
Samples of the sludge tested by the Environmental Protection Agency were subsequently found to have traces of creosote, a toxic compound containing phenol.
The sludge had been discharged weekly by a company carrying out a bulk tanker washing service at Belview Port, about eight kilometres from Waterford city. The company, Belview Container Cleaning Ltd, could not be contacted last week and further efforts to contact it yesterday were unsuccessful.
Investigations at Tramore began on Saturday following an allegation that a tanker containing hazardous material was taken from Belview Port to the Tramore landfill site earlier this month.
The council said yesterday the material appeared on initial examination to be similar to that tested by the EPA and which was found to have had traces of creosote. The material had been isolated in a quarantine area and would be analysed by the EPA.
The material was deposited at the landfill by a contracting company that carries out work for both Belview Container Cleaning and Waterford County Council. A spokesman for the council said the vehicle involved was allowed into site on the basis that it was not carrying hazardous material.
The company, he said, was carrying out other work for the council in the Tramore area on the day in question and the site undertaker was given to understand that the load involved related to this work. A spokesman for the contractor told The Irish Times it had been asked to take the material from Belview Port and had no reason to suspect it included toxic waste.
The council spokesman said the material found had been small in quantity.
"Perhaps most importantly, we remain wholly convinced that there has been no leakage of any material, hazardous or otherwise, from the landfill site at Tramore," he said.