ABOUT 50 residents in Lismore, Co Waterford, were spending last night in alternative accommodation after they were evacuated from their homes following fears that a fire at a recycling plant may have discharged toxic fumes into the atmosphere.
Gardaí said last night that initial tests at six locations in the town found no asbestos threat.
But they advised people not to return home until today because of the high level of smoke in the area.
Residents were evacuated from the Mills estate on the Mayfield Road in the town shortly before 9am yesterday amid concerns that asbestos particles may have been released in the fire which broke out at the former Samshire recycling plant.
Among those evacuated was Wilf Bracegirdle, who praised Lismore town council for providing alternative accommodation at the Lismore House hotel. "It was quite amazing last night when the fire broke out, with the flames shooting up 25 to 30 feet, higher than the building," he said.
Environmental inspectors visited the scene yesterday, and were last night continuing to assess the risk to the environment following the collapse and break up of the asbestos roof during the blaze.
According to Supt Tom O'Grady of Dungarvan Garda station, gardaí believe the fire was started maliciously and believe it was linked to a smaller fire which broke out at the derelict centre on Tuesday night.
Some 30 members of Waterford county fire service drawn from Lismore, Cappoquin, Tallow and Dungarvan spent over 20 hours fighting the blaze.
The alarm had been raised at about 11.40pm on Sunday.
Gardaí yesterday advised people in the town, the 2004 winner of the National Tidy Towns competition, not to go out and to close windows.
The site was formerly operated, but not owned, by Samshire Recycling Ltd, which acted as the council's agent for the processing of recyclable goods collected from households, shops and businesses across the county.
The centre closed three years ago and has remained derelict since.
Newly elected mayor of Lismore Cllr Jan Rotte said recyclable waste had been left to fester at the site for the past three years since Samshire went out of business. The site was now a serious health hazard for the town.
Waterford County Council said yesterday that following a protracted legal process over a number of years, a High Court case was listed for yesterday to compel removal of material on the site under the Waste Management Act.
The owner of the land had made proposals to submit a programme of works to have all waste removed within six months.
This had been accepted by the council, and was to be formally agreed in court yesterday.
However, as a result of the fire the case has been adjourned pending advice from both the Health and Safety Authority and the EPA on an acceptable timeframe for the remediation of the site.