Farmers hit out at Aughinish plant expansion
Farmers expressed anger today at the prospect of more toxic waste being dumped near their lands in Co Limerick.
The Aughinish Alumina factory has been given the go-ahead by Limerick County Council to expand its 104-hectare mud stack in Askeaton by another 80 hectares.
The Cappagh Farmers Support Group said it had objected to the plan because of the dust blowing from the existing red mud stack.
“This is a sad day for the people of this area. The dust is coming onto our farms and to us it’s toxic dust our cattle are eating from the grass and that people are inhaling,” said spokesman Pat Geoghegan.
The Aughinish Alumina plant, which is the largest of its kind in Europe, began its production of alumina on a 1,000-acre site on the Shannon Estuary in 1983.
The new mud stack will store hundreds of thousands of tonnes of toxic salt cake and red mud, which are the main by-products after alumina is extracted from bauxite ore.
Mr Geoghegan said it was unbelievable that Limerick County Council was including a requirement to study the effect on badgers and otters but not the local population.
“The badgers and the otters will be looked after. But what about the protection of the people? Why is the council not looking after us?”
Limerick County Council has given Aughinish Alumina retention permission to expand its annual production of alumina from 1.6 million tonnes to 1.9 million tonnes, which will see even more waste deposited in the mud stacks.
Independent MEP Kathy Sinnott, who was one of the 25 people who lodged objections to the mud stack plan, said she was appalled by the council’s decision.
“I feel very much that such a decision will impact further on the health of both humans and animals living in Askeaton,” she said.
The Cappagh Farmers Support Group has been trying to get the Dáil Environment Committee to examine its health concerns over the mud stack for the last two years.
The committee received a warning letter from Aughinish Alumina warning against this course of action but has cited legal advice as the reason for its refusal to discuss the issue.
Aughinish Alumina is required to rehabilitate the existing mud stack, which contains more than 800,000 tonnes of waste material, under the license granted by the Environmental Protection Agency.
However, attempts to grow vegetation on the surface have not succeeded and a system of water sprinklers is used to keep the red dust down.
The Environmental Protection Agency described the material in the mud stack as hazardous in 1997 but later changed the classification to ’non-hazardous’.
It has said that emissions from the mud stack are monitored each month by its inspectors and by Aughinish Alumina, and that the inspections show compliance with the factory’s integrated pollution control license.
A spokesman for Limerick County Council said it would be inappropriate to comment on the decision to grant planning permission for the mud stack because it might prejudice any potential appeal.
Aughinish Alumina was not available for comment.
