Asbestos dumped on shores of lough

Asbestos dumped on shores of lough

4 April 2012 - by Joanne Fleming

THE dumping of asbestos products on the shores of Strangford Lough has been condemned by local councillor, Joe Boyle.

Councillor Boyle said asbestos sheeting and associated building rubble had been spotted by residents walking the popular Lough Shore Road in Portaferry on Sunday.

He said they were naturally concerned at the blatant environmental safety breach and the impact on the Lough itself as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

“To think that someone has involved themselves with this activity is totally unacceptable,” he said. “There are stringent rules and regulations involved with the disposing

of such materials such is the seriousness and danger to health risks associated with asbestos. There are also significant costs involved with the disposing of asbestos

and this may well have played a part with this somewhat careless behaviour.

“I have since brought this matter to the attention of the Environmental Health Department within Ards Borough Council, with a view to having this issue addressed. I would, however, stress that associated costs involved with the disposing of asbestos products cannot and should never be used as an excuse for such careless disposal.”

Councillor Boyle said the dumping incident was “seriously at odds” with all the good work being undertaken by many agencies to protect and improve conditions in Strangford Lough.

“The Department Of Environment have been concentrating their efforts in balancing the usage of Strangford Lough with its protection,” he said. “Those involved in this type of activity, if identified, can expect the department to adopt a very dim view.

“For example, the foreshore, plus some islands in Strangford Lough, have been declared as Areas of Special Scientific Interest (ASSIs). The DOE designates ASSIs under the Environment (NI) Order 2002 — which makes it an offence to carry out operations likely to damage an ASSI without prior permission from the Northern Ireland Environment Agency, DOE.

“So serious is the legislation surrounding Strangford Lough that NI Water, in addition to their recent significant investment in the area with a state of the art Waste Water Treatment Works, have just completed further improvements within Portaferry. This is to assist with finally reaching the water quality required under a European directive for discharge into the Lough.”