Sir, - I refer to the article on Enniskerry landfill dump (July 19th). A point to add is the cause of the noxious odours mentioned by your correspondent.
Contrary to condition 2 of the planning permission as granted in 1989, all manner of organic waste has been dumped at the site and covered over. As it putrefies, this material creates a number of gases, such as methane, carbon dioxide and hydrogen sulphide, amongst many others, Over a period of years, as the waste reaches its rotting peak, pressure builds up causing these gases to migrate underground until they can find their way into the atmosphere.
The residents in the vicinity and the general Enniskerry area have endured the smell without realising that the gases are poisonous. Wicklow County Council has initiated gas emission controls at the dump after pressure from the local community but it is a case of closing the door after the horse has bolted. If the operators of the dump had observed the planning regulations from the start, ten years ago, local residents would not be faced with the prospect of enduring the presence of gases in the air for the next decade or so, as all the waste rots merrily away, not to mention the possibility of pollution of the water table.
In terms of the planning application to continue dumping, the local residents' association is demanding that no further waste dumping is sanctioned and that permission be granted to fill the remaining void with dry-fill only, such as soil or rubble and the relandscaping works take place immediately afterwards. - Yours, etc. Tony Kearns,
Enniskerry, Co Wicklow.