Tag Archives: EPA

Call for action to protect town’s citizens CALLS have been made for an “action plan” to protect the people of Ennis after recent statistics showed air pollution levels 12 times higher than safe limits. Environmental Protection Agency statistics show the county capital suffering huge air pollution despite a smoky coal ban being in place. Councillor Johnny Flynn called for the plan, saying this “very serious issue” has not got the attention it deserves because of the focus on Covid-19. He has also pointed out that research has shown that the impact of air pollution on people’s health can exacerbate the impact of the virus. The councillor said more air quality monitors should be put in place that could warn people vulnerable to air pollution of any potential risks. At the monthly meeting of the Ennis Municipal District the councillor asked for a review to be carried out into the causes of poor air quality in Ennis. He asked that the …

TESTS undertaken by Clare County Council laboratory technicians have revealed that an unusual white scum on large tracts of the banks of the River Shannon is “non-toxic”. Former O’Briensbridge Community Group chairman, Jack Byrnes requested Clare County Council, Waterways Ireland and EPA to investigate the origin of a massive spider’s web of white scum, which is left on vast tracts of land from the Pattern Weir all the way to Castleconnell after the last flooding. Mr Byrnes said the worst example of this scum was underneath his house, which was deposited all over the river bank about five feet above the normal water level. “It is like someone got a paint brush and painted all the river bank down along from Parteen Weir to Castleconnell for more than four kilometres. It is like a whitewash but you can’t get it off the stones. “I have contacted farmers who have animals as I am concerned it could be toxic. It could …

On Thursday last, Inland Fisheries Ireland (IFI) received a report of a fish kill on Ballycorrigan stream and near the confluence with the River Shannon in Ballina, County Tipperary. Staff observed approximately 100 brown trout of various age groups, three juvenile salmon and a stone loach dead in an approximately 100 metre stretch from the Ballina Waste Water Treatment Plant discharge pipe to the confluence with the River Shannon. There are live fish upstream of the WWTP. Preliminary investigations have indicated that maintenance works carried out during the day in the Ballina WWTP may have caused a deleterious or polluting effluent to discharge to this stretch of river causing the observed fish mortality. IFI, in a statement on Monday (today), confirmed it is  continuing to investigate the cause of the fish mortality and are working with Irish Water and the EPA in this regard.

THE ENVIRONMENTAL protection agency has revealed that a file concerning Clare County Council’s disposal of asbestos-containing wastes at a number of West Clare sites remains open, pending further local authority works. Clare councillors passed the 2018 Budget Estimates recently, in the knowledge that the council was still not able to make a financial provision for the cost of properly disposing of asbestos-cement materials from six unauthorised sites in Kilkee and three in Kilrush. Estimates vary from €1.5 to €3.3 million for the disposal of material, which was first reported to the local authority by Kilkee resident PJ Linnane in June 2013. It is understood that the exact cost will depend on whether the council has to remove all this material or whether it is allowed to remediate the different sites. Asbestos waste material disposal is governed by legal requirements and the requirements of the HSA and the EPA. Responding to Clare Champion queries, the EPA outlined that it has a …

THE Clare Champion has scooped another award at the Local Ireland Media Awards, as reporter Dan Danaher’s series focusing on the EPA took the news series prize. This is the second award for The Clare Champion in the two year history of the Local Ireland Media Awards, as last year the regional newspaper took the prize for best feature article. Also nominated for an award was ‘Clare Champion reporter Peter O’Connell for his news story, Death by Geography. Over a 10 week period, Dan Danaher’s award winning news series examined the environmental compliance of 17 local companies who deal with various different types of chemicals and hazardous waste. Of those that were featured in The Clare Champion/Mary Raftery Special Investigation, 15 companies were initially granted Integrated Pollution and Prevention Control (IPPC) licences. The two exceptions were Enva and Clean Ireland Recycling Limited, who have waste licences. The main function of these licences is to ensure that companies, who are handling …

The Law Society of Ireland’s decision to include three questions relating to radon gas in their 2017 Conditions of Sale document has been welcomed by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Radon is a naturally occurring radioactive gas linked to lung cancer. It is formed in the ground by the radioactive decay of uranium which is present in all rocks and soils. Radon is an invisible gas with no smell or taste, therefore it can only be measured with special detectors. “We are really pleased to have radon gas highlighted in this manner” said Stephanie Long, senior scientist with the EPA. “We have been campaigning for radon to be considered when homes are bought and sold for some time. Radon is a serious public health issue so raising the question of radon when a home is being sold is an important step in reducing the risk. Radon is linked to lung cancer and the risk of this cancer can be significant …

RADON gas is the number one cause of lung cancer among non-smokers and Clare has one of the highest rates of radon in the country, with 18% of monitored houses in the county recording high levels of the gas. On foot of an awareness campaign, the EPA is encouraging householders to check the levels of radon in their homes and take measures to reduce their exposure to the silent killer. Senior scientist with the EPA and manager of the radon and radiation measurements services, David Fenton, said acceptable levels of radon within the home are anything up to 200 units but, in the last 12 months, a recording 10 times that was found in Ennis. “In County Clare, the highest level we found was 3,500 units near Lisdoonvarna in a private house in 2010. The radiation dose that people in that house were receiving would be the equivalent of 12 chest x-rays a day. The more we measure, the more …

Environmental Protection Agency testing over the past three years has found that bathing waters in Clare are “excellent”. The EPA report Bathing Water Quality in Ireland – A Report for the Year 2015 published this week states that 93 per cent of Irish bathing waters meet minimum EU Standards and three quarters of bathing waters continue to be of Excellent quality for the second-year running. Fresh water bathing waters at Ballyalla Lake, Ballycuggeran and Mountshannon (Lough Derg) were found to be excellent in terms of their E. coli, intestinal enterococci and overall status as were Bishopsquarter, Cappagh Pier in Kilrush, Fanore, Kilkee, Lahinch, Spanish Point, White Strand Doonbeg and Whitestrand, Miltown Malbay. Traught in Kinvara was also found to be excellent for the three years between 2012 and 2015. “Despite a cool and, at times, wet and windy summer, the overall quality of Ireland’s bathing waters continues to be extremely good with the stricter standards providing a high level of …