Tynagh labelled most hazardous mine in Ireland

The Environmental Protection Agency has labelled Tynagh Mines as the most hazardous mine site in the country, with arsenic levels 1,600 times higher than safety limits – posing a potential risk to thousands of people across East Galway.

In a seperate recent report submitted to the EU Commission it was established that 420 tons of cyanide was used in silver ore processing on site - that's the same lethal gas used by the Nazis during World War II.

Tynagh is now recognised by the European Commission as the “main source of concern of heavy metal contamination in the country”.

Meanwhile, locals have accused the Government of continually ignoring their demands for the 350-acre site to be ‘frozen’ and for a full report to establish the extent of the contamination there.

It is thought that the costs of remediation works on the site could run into tens of millions of euro, because of the land itself and its 55 miles of underground tunnels.

According to the 2009 EPA and Geological Survey of Ireland’s (GSI) ‘Historic Mine Sites Report’, of the country’s 32 old mines, Tynagh is the most hazardous, and a risk assessment is now required.

Tynagh was termed as a Class 1 ‘threat’ site along with Silvermines in Tipperary and Avoca in Wicklow.

Already, remediation works are underway in Silvermines, while a full assessment of Avoca has been carried out.

Tests have already indicated that waste at Tynagh has the potential to contaminate groundwater – separate tests carried out downstream by a hydro-geologist from NUI Galway have recorded arsenic levels 30 times higher than the EPA’s acceptable standard.

Locals have pointed out that a power plant now on the site emits hundreds of thousands of tons of carbon dioxide each year.

Eoghan Carroll of the ‘East Galway for a Lasting Environment’ (EaGLE) group told the Connacht Tribune that because the hazard has now been identified by the EPA, a full environmental risk assessment must be undertaken at Tynagh.

For full story see this week’s Connacht Tribune.