Tag Archives: odour

FIRE services in Ennis and Bord Gais employees were called to The Square in O’Connell Street this Friday morning following a suspected gas leak. The top of O’Connell Street was cordoned off and checks were made in the surrounding area. Clare Fire Service later confirmed that no gas leak was found and the likely cause of the odour was from the town drains, adding that the O’Connell Street drains were flushed out by the fire personnel.

THE Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Clare County Council were both under fire at this week’s meeting of Shannon Electoral Area councillors, as members discussed the smell that has plagued Shannon. One of the councillors, Fine Gael’s Sean McLoughlin, even said that locals might have to erect barricades to keep out trucks carrying hazardous materials. Both Councillor McLoughlin and Councillor Gerry Flynn brought motions to the meeting regarding the smell. Councillor McLoughlin was asking that the council request the Department of the Environment to organise an independent review of all industrial and waste licences in Shannon. He said that such a review should be carried out by an independent body, from outside the country, rather than the EPA, who he made it quite clear he didn’t have any faith in. A reply from the council’s Environment and Water Directorate stated; “Clare County Council are currently considering requesting the review of existing licences of a number of facilities in Shannon as …

A TEAM of inspectors from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) visited Shannon on Wednesday to carry out an investigation into an “appalling and overpowering” odour that has been present in the town for almost a week. The inspectors will try to establish the likely cause and origins of these odours and determine the appropriate corrective and preventative actions necessary to address the problem. Their visit coincides with a call for a full independent audit of all Integrated Pollution and Prevention Control (IPPC) licences held by the EPA on industries in the town amid fears, expressed by Senator Tony Mulcahy, that there is a “serious accident waiting to happen”. The Clare Champion has learned that a Clare County Council employee, who was delivering goods in Shannon, was forced to leave the site after experiencing difficulty breathing. He contacted senior officials in the environment department, who commenced their own investigation. However, the council is not authorised to enter a number of sites …