The Environmental Protection Agency has confirmed that it is carrying out an investigation into the accidental discharge of approximately 300 tonnes of sludge into Cork Harbour from the Irish Distillers plant in Midleton.
It said the discharge occurred between 8pm on October 6th and 8am on October 7th and the sludge, comprising organic matter and suspended solids, discharged into a sewer which in turn discharged into Cork Harbour at Rathcoursey Point.
The company notified the EPA on the morning of October 7th and an inspector from the agency's Cork office in Inniscarra visited the scene and initiated an investigation which is ongoing, said an EPA spokesperson.
The South Western Regional Fisheries Board was also notified and board manager Aidan Barry said it didn't believe that the spillage had any discernible effect on fish life in Cork Harbour.
Mr Barry said the sewer fed into another sewer bringing treated material from the public sewage treatment plant in Midleton.
This treated material further diluted the sludge before it discharged into the sea.
He said the discharge of 300 tonnes of sludge wasn't huge in the context of the volume of water in Cork Harbour and, relative to other discharges which the board had investigated, it didn't believe it was a serious incident with any discernible impact on fish life.
A spokesman for Irish Distillers said the total discharge amounted to 80,000 gallons of non-toxic material comprising waste water, organic matter and suspended solids and the company shut down its operating facilities as soon as the discharge was discovered.
The source of the problem was identified and the fault rectified, said the Irish Distillers spokesman.
The area where the sewer discharges into Cork Harbour was inspected by the EPA and no evidence of any environmental impact has been found, he added.
