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A 5,500-signature petition, which is aimed at forcing
the Irish Government to undertake a clean up operation
at a toxic dump on Haulbowline island in Cork was handed
to the European Parliament last week.
The petition, drafted by the Cork Harbour Health pressure
group, was presented to Eurocrats by Ireland South MEP
Sean Kelly.
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In July 2008, it was discovered that tonnes of toxic waste
had been dumped on Haulbowline island, including the highly
carcinogenic Chromium 6. Major concerns have been raised that
the dump could be responsible for Cobh having a 37% higher
rate of cancer than the national average.
"It is time that the Irish authorities deal with this ongoing
issue. This toxic dump is not licensed and this has been the
case for 10 years," Mr Kelly said. He said he was hopeful
that the European Parliament would put pressure on the Irish
Government to clean up the dump and make it safe.
Much anger was generated in Cobh when Health Minister Mary
Harney decided she wasn’t going to carry out a baseline health
study on the local population, especially as a promise to
do so had been previously made by Environment Minister John
Gormley.
Anger reached fever pitch when it was discovered that a task
force set up by the OPW didn’t have any remit to clean up
the site.
Mr Kelly stressed that Ireland was held to be in breach of
the Waste Management Directive 75/442/EEC, as all landfills
are required to be licensed under European law. He said there
were no exceptions to this and expected the European Parliament
to act on the matter.
Steel manufacturing began on Haulbowline Island before World
War II and he said the industrial residues of the steel manufacturing
process have been embedded in and around the island for over
60 years.
"The Irish state cannot afford to let this situation continue.
The inhabitants of the Cork harbour area deserve to know if
there is a link between the high cancer rates and the leaching
toxins from the site," the MEP said.
He added it was important to clean up the site from an environmental
perspective.
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