TWO reports on a major toxic dump in Cork harbour are due to be released shortly by the Department of the Environment.
The mayor of Cobh, Cllr John Mulvihill, said he had been informed by sources within the department that the reports would be made public early next week.
However, when the Irish Examiner contacted the Department of the Environment, a spokesman said the reports were being finalised and he hoped they would be released very soon.
He was unable to confirm a publication date.
One of the reports has been compiled by consultants who were brought in last summer to analyse the contents of the dump at Haulbowline, which is believed to have contained some highly carcinogenic material.
The other is a ‘peer review’ of the report carried out by a group of experts in Britain.
Cllr Mulvihill said that consultants White Young Green have finished their report on the site and the peer review process has been completed.
Minister for the Environment John Gormley confirmed at a meeting with public representatives in Cobh last September that he was willing to publish the reports’ findings.
“As mayor of Cobh I am anxious that the public are made fully aware of the reports’ contents. It is also vital that the minister formulates a plan to deal with the clean up of the site,” Cllr Mulvihill said.
“I am conscious that we are currently in a tough economic climate, but the issue of the cost of the clean up can only be secondary to the health of the people of Cobh and the lower harbour.”
Irish Examiner
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