Irish firms probed over pollution

22 August 1994 00:00  [Source: ICB]

THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION is investigating claims by Greenpeace that chemical companies in Eire are flouting the country's pollution laws and failing to make monitoring data publicly available as required under the directive on freedom of environmental information.

Last month the group received a seven-page letter from Ludwig Kraemer, head of DGXI's legal division, listing the information he required from the Irish environment ministry and local authorities. Clare O'Grady Walshe, executive director of Greenpeace Ireland, told ECN she believes Kraemer has taken the complaint seriously and intends to turn it into a test case on the directive.

On the issue of pollution in Cork harbour, where many of the major chemical and pharmaceutical plants are located, the Commission is querying the absence of monitoring data for companies including Pfizer, Henkel, Schering-Plough, Hickson Pharmachem and SmithKline Beecham. The Commission is also seeking details on alleged breaches of water and air pollution standards by many of the Cork-based companies.

The investigation will also cover allegations by Greenpeace that 'unlicensed dangerous substances' are being discharged into the river Shannon by companies in counties Clare and Limerick. Details of cadmium and mercury monitoring data from sites in the area and confirmation that the data are publicly available have been requested.

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