Document v1wj6wxpOOmKGGxrzDkOvpZ58

. ;.ri" y fsfowa liDsgesst JOURNAL IRISH INDEPENDENT DATE March 8, 197.1 PAGE Vi By Jeremy Bugler ATTEMPTS to prevent toxic indus trial chemicals from being dumped in the Irish Sea and other waters off these islands arc not succeeding. Quantities of the chemicals--polycvhlorinatcd biphenyls (PCBs)--are present in sewage sludge dumped daily in the Thames Estuary, in the Irish Sea off Liverpool, and in the Firth of Clyde. is threat to Irish In Britain ohe Royal Com mission on environmental Pollution in its recent first report rated as a "high Sea wildlife priority" an inquiry into the disposal of waste at sea. from ShieldhaH in the city itself--40 miles to a point six " ..................U....l.f..'.o...t...B. ut*. massive slaughter of sea birds ]n ont yMr more than a miMioa in the Irish Sea area 18 tout of duds* trill be dumped months ago, and wHdlife hare. `We've nowhere els* to ^organisations are *rioualy "r- concerned at ohe failure of disposal, control methods. "We're very with variation*, this practice unhappy about it," says Mr. hai beenjoin* on for about 70 Peter (fonder, director of the jjy*' The water is "more than Royal Society for the Protec grounds, but itront currents disperse die sludse widely. Many of the seebirde found dead in the major mortality la September, 1969, were washed up on the chore* of the Firth of Clyde and showed hl|h levels of PCB residues. Test* of sludse dumped by Manchester Corporation in the Irish Sea indicate that about the seme quantity of PCBs la being released there. tion of Birds. "We hoped Hits wasn't going to be a problem that would drag on and on*" PCB's, like DDT and dleld- rin, accumulate In creatures. Although they may enter the marine environment In small quantities, their long-term effect is incalculable. They are known to be present In Industrial effluents sent to sewage works for treatment. During this pro cess the chemicals mix wkh the orgaatnic semi-solid waste --the alui Svwaga tludg* , The PCS'* in sewage dodge dumped by Glasgow Corporation are perturbing the Clyd* JUver Purification Board. "If PCB'S are still in the sludge In elx months' time, you may taka * that 1 shall he making repmstntatiens at Government level,* says iu director. Mr. (an Waddington. Samples of the sludge taken by rhe Board show that PCB rpHdues ere present at an aversge concentration of 0.S parjs y the only . .................-- . in Bri. tain, haa withdrawn the chemi*aU-hrawd name ArocMor 1 .'14--from ciTtein indueirial iiws where they cannot be con* tisilV.i ami has warned Its cus tomers .>i ih. danger of taring them ev.tpo in fWiiervl. It *yy jt is Hilling in han rhe chrmls'.ds nltngciher. if th-v cannot be prevented from entering the environment. Bur several other companies on rite Continent supply the chemicals to Britain. The sources of the escape hve not been traced. Glasgow Corporation says the chemicals are used by many companies In many processes and not all the sludge dumped by the corpora tion originates In die city. An attempt to trace the sources through the sewer* has not beea successful. Tire sludge la carried daily in two ships--one from Datmuir to the west oi Glasgow, the other. HONS 033738