Wicklow water contaminated by hospital waste

Hospital waste which was illegally dumped in Co Wicklow has contaminated local groundwater, Wicklow County Council has confirmed.

Speaking at a special meeting to discuss recent discoveries of illegally dumped hospital waste, the Wicklow county manager, Mr Eddie Sheehy, said examination of one site, Coolnamadra near Donard, had revealed the presence of blood in samples taken from the waste. The council had identified the waste as coming from the Mater Hospital and Blackrock Clinic. Some elements of waste bore indications that they had originated in other hospitals but he could not say if they had arrived in the waste chain through the named hospitals.

Mr Sheehy said the blood was found in 20 samples taken from the hospital waste, which the council estimated at 8,000 tonnes. Leachate from this waste had contaminated a local river which bordered the property, he said.

Mr Sheehy said the waste had been dumped at Coolnamadra between August 2nd, when a council environmental officer and litter warden had found builders' rubble on site, and October 22nd last when the council discovered the hospital waste.

The waste was hazardous as defined by the Waste Management Act and documents and hydrocarbons were also present. The entire landfill was unstable, he said.

Since the find Wicklow County Council has been working with the Environmental Protection Agency, the Eastern Regional Fisheries Board, the Eastern Regional Health Authority and the garda∅ to handle the situation.

Since the find at Coolnamadra the council investigation team had moved to Whitestown quarry, near Baltinglass, where more hospital waste has been found.

Mr Sheehy said the council expected further serious incidents of illegal dumping to be discovered when the team moves on to a third site in the coming week.

He could not definitively say what was in other sites, but confirmed that the council was continuing its investigations.

While Mr Sheehy asked for the members' indulgence in what he could and could not say about these dumps pending a prosecution, he acknowledged "rumours" that the council had been investigating a member of its own staff in relation to the discovery of hospital waste.

He was, he said, happy to say that this was definitely not the case and he pledged "100 per cent confidence" in his staff which he said had shown enthusiasm, dedication and initiative in bringing the issue to light.

Mr Sheehy said the cost of clearing up the Coolnamadra site would run to "several millions of pounds". While the costs were currently being borne by the county council itself, Mr Sheehy said he was determined to make the landowners, waste contractors or the hospitals or anybody culpable, pay for the full costs of the operation.

In answer to questions from councillors, Mr Sheehy said the council did not have to await the outcome of a criminal or civil case to obtain remedial work on the sites. Enforcement orders would be served on landowners detailing exactly how the council wanted the areas cleared up and this would be rigorously pursued, he said.

The Labour Party spokeswoman on Health, Ms Liz McManus, a member of Wicklow County Council, told the meeting that it was clear "extreme criminal activity" was involved and she asked that the council assess the danger to the Blessington Lakes which, she said, were "vulnerable to this kind of activity".

Ms McManus said that there was a "major problem in the county" with illegal dumping and she added that while "one site had 8,000 tonnes of hospital waste illegally dumped, presumably there is more in the other".

Many councillors expressed concern that Wicklow's image as the garden county would be destroyed by the dumping.