Saturday 18 March 2017

Report identifies options to tackle old municipal landfill being washed into Irish Sea in Bray - Brady

Sinn Féin TD for Wicklow/East Carlow John Brady has welcomed a Tier 3 report outlining the options available to tackle the ongoing environmental risks posed by hazardous waste at the old Bray Municipal landfill which is located on the North Beach in Bray. This waste is currently being eroded into the Irish Sea.

Teachta Brady said:

“I welcome the Tier 3 report finalised by Fehily Timoney & Co. on behalf of Dún Laoghaire Rathdown County Council detailing the options available to put an end to hazardous waste such as asbestos which has been identified on site being washed into the Irish Sea at North Beach beside Bray Harbour.

“I had first called for action to tackle this serious problem back in 2005 and I have been raising it consistently since then. I am happy to see progress being made to deal with this situation.

“The Tier 3 report puts forward six options to deal with the landfill with costs ranging from €10,000 to €12 million with the latter involving the removal of all waste. The dump contains more than 104,000 cubic metres of waste including, broken asbestos tiles, and excessive levels of ammoniacal nitrogen, potassium and manganese in the ground water.

“According to the report, the most viable option to prevent landfill material entering the sea and to prevent coastal erosion at the site is to protect the base of the exposed landfill with rock armour revetment and stabilise the cliff by regrading. The estimated cost of this is €2.3 million.

“This report has been sent to the EPA for their consideration and hopefully, action can be taken as quickly as possible once funding is in place for the necessary works to take place.

“Whilst this critical work needs to advance as swiftly as possible concerns have been expressed relating to a 6,000 year old pine forest known as a submerged forest, which can be glimpsed at low tide. So, this archaeological heritage must be considered in whatever plan is devised.”

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