Irish Examiner - 02-08-05
Confidence in EPA ‘lost’ after spill
By Mary Dundon and Eoin English

THE public has lost confidence in the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) following the spillage of 252 tonnes of caustic soda into Cork Harbour, the Green Party said last night.The party said it was now clear that the EPA neither had the will, nor the resources, to carry out its duties in a satisfactory way.

A public meeting on the relevance of the EPA has been arranged for Wednesday night amid concern following the spillage in Cork on July 2 and an accident at the Aughanish Alumina plant in June.

Green TD Dan Boyle said: “These recent incidents have raised serious questions about the agency’s ability to safeguard the environment and consequently public health.

“The EPA’s response to the recent spillage of caustic soda in Ringaskiddy again highlights the agency’s inability to take its responsibilities seriously, and has further undermined the faith of the lower harbour residents in the EPA.”

Mr Boyle said the public meeting at the Carrigaline Court Hotel will give residents the opportunity to put their concerns about the EPA on the table.

It has emerged that the company responsible for a major spillage of caustic soda into Cork Harbour only stopped pumping the liquid for ten minutes after the leak was discovered, according to the ship’s log.

The log of the ship, Ardea, which was unloading the caustic soda to ADM Ringaskiddy, show that pumping started at 23.15pm on July 2 and continued, except for a ten-minute interruption, until 8.35am on July 3.

Environmental scientist Mary O’Leary, who is also chairperson of the Cork Harbour Alliance for a Safe Environment (CHASE), said it is difficult to understand why the ship only stopped pumping for ten minutes during what the EPA said was such a serious incident.

“It would not have been possible to do an examination of the damage to the installation or a proper risk assessment of any dangers to the staff or the environment in ten minutes.

“Surely if an emergency plan was put in place then all activity should have stopped for much longer,” Ms O’Leary said.

The EPA inspector’s report into the ADM spillage has found that the caustic soda leaked in Cork Harbour for an hour, between 11.15pm and 00.15am, before it was detected by staff at the plant.

EPA inspector Michael Owens also found that an alarm designed to warn of low pressure in the pipeline had sounded for 20 to 25 minutes, but the two operators involved in unloading the cargo assumed it was caused by problems with the ship’s pumps.

Mr Owens found that ADM staff had failed to properly check the valve at the stripping station, which was the cause of the leak.

ADM chief executive Brian Leahy said yesterday he would not make any comment on these latest revelations until the independent risk assessment of what happened at the plant on July 2 is completed.

The EPA has admitted that no one from the agency spoke to ADM on the day of the accident.

The admission by the State environmental watchdog is contrary to its earlier explanations, which said a public health warning was not issued because a senior official assessed the situation during a telephone conversation with ADM on the morning of the spillage.

The EPA named this official as environmental enforcement director Dr Daragh Lynott.

However, the EPA later admitted Dr Lynott had no contact with ADM as he was on annual leave.

A spokesman for ADM confirmed no EPA official spoke to his staff on the day of the caustic soda spillage, even though the company alerted the agency of the accident by phone and fax on July 3. Inspectors visited the site 36 hours after the spill.