Dust filled with cadmium, lead and other metals is blowing across the land of north Tipperary families, causing serious health concerns, writes Cian McCormack.
"A highly toxic dump spewing out toxins day and night" - that's how farmer Mr Michael Leamy describes the 149-acre pond full of dried-up mining waste that lies less than a mile from his home.
Fine dust, filled with cadmium, lead and other metals, is blowing from the deteriorated surface of the lagoon at Gortmore, near Silvermines, in north Tipperary.
Mr Leamy and other residents living near the defunct tailings (ore residue) management facility are worried that carcinogenic materials are spoiling the air they breathe. They are calling for a rehabilitation plan, published last May by consultants for the Department of Communications, Marine and Natural Resources, to be implemented.
The Steffan, Robertson and Kirsten (SRK) report recommends a €5.2 million, four-year remedial plan to prevent pollution in the Silvermines area.
Living at Capparoe, less than a mile from the tailings pond, Mr Leamy's family have noticed their health deteriorating recently.
Mr Leamy told The Irish Times that he, his wife, Fiona, and their three children have become asthma sufferers in recent months.
Mr Leamy, his wife, his sons Patrick (5) and Hugh (3) use inhalers to help them breathe, while eight-month-old Mark depends on a nebuliser to help his breathing each day.
"There is no history of asthma in either mine or Fiona's family and now we all use inhalers to help us breathe," said Mr Leamy.
The lagoon began to dry out after the mine closed and, three years later, in 1985, there was a major dust blow. Dust levels were so appalling that farmers had to wear masks when they worked on their land.
Between March 1999 and February 2002, according to a report issued by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) last year, 428 dust samples were collected and analysed from the tailings facility.
Ten samples exceeded the TA Luft (rules for air pollution control) limit for lead, four exceeded the TA Luft limit for cadmium and one exceeded the limit for thallium.
Lead can make adults ill, and children with raised levels of the substance in their system can develop learning disabilities and other health problems. Cadmium also has an adverse effect on human health. Lower levels, exposed over a long period, can result in lung cancer, the build-up of cadmium in the kidneys, and eventual kidney disease.
Mr Michael Gleeson, a resident of Gortmore and the spokesman for a sub-committee of the Silvermines Environmental Action Group with responsibility for the Gortmore tailings pond, said: "If you are in the fields near the pond, and if it is blowing, you can feel your eyes burning. In your mouth and at the back of your throat there is a metallic taste.
"Something should be done with the tailings pond immediately," he added.
Mr Leamy agreed: "We'd like to see most aspects of the SRK report implemented. We would like to see an emergency plan activated in the interim to stop any dust blowing from the tailings pond."
Mr Frank O'Halloran, senior environmental engineer with North Tipperary County Council, said the local authority had a contingency plan with mining company Mogul if there was a serious dust-blow from the facility.
"The council is hoping the SRK plan would be implemented rapidly. In the meantime, we are keeping in touch with Mogul to make sure dust-blow at the tailings pond is monitored," he said.
The Department of Communications, Marine and Natural Resources is resolving legal issues and is seeking legal advice from the chief State solicitor to ascertain where responsibility and liability for the rehabilitation plan lies.
Mr Raphael J.E. Kelly, principal officer with the Department of the Marine and Natural Resources said: "We have no powers to carry out the works proposed by the SRK report.
"A new Act, legislation, is needed, so workers carrying out rehabilitation of land can go on to privately owned lands to carry out works."
Labour senator Ms Kathleen O'Meara hopes to bring the problem before the Committee on Marine and Natural Resources as a matter of urgency.
"The people of Gortmore and Silvermines have lived with this problem for far too long. They deserve to live in an environment free of toxic dust and pollution, to be able to raise their families and earn their livelihood in a healthy environment."