A Dublin waste management company is among 13 sites the Environmental Protection Agency has identified as priority pollution areas in its National Priority Sites.
SRCL in Dublin was listed due to issues with waste management. The facility is located in the Western Industrial Estate on the Naas Road.
Of these, six were from the food and drink sector and five were from the waste sector. The most common issues identified by the EPA were non compliance with emission limit values, poor operation of wastewater treatment plants and the handling and storage of waste at waste processing sites.
Read more: Human remains discovered in Dublin Mountains
Of the 13 sites listed, six were based in Cork, two in Roscommon and one each in Dublin, Kildare, Donegal, Mayo, Galway. Speaking on the publication of the report, Director of EPA's office of environmental enforcement, Tom Ryan said that the agency's enforcement activities are targeted at sites who are not complying with their licenses.
He said: "We carried out over 1,400 inspections of industrial and waste licensed activities and a further 58 inspections of unauthorised activities which require a licence. 87% of these inspections are unannounced." He said that while the 13 sites that make up the National Priority List are just 1.5% of the sites licensed by the EPA it was "disappointing" to see the food and drink sector make up such a significant proportion of the list.
"A small number of sites is threatening the green sustainable image that sector endeavours to project," Ryan said. The EPA updates the sites on the National Priority list every quarter.
Last year, the EPA carried out 1,434 inspections of licensed sites during the year - 87% of these were unannounced. The EPA has secured €1 billion in financial provisions which means in the event of an environmental accident or incident at a licensed site, the taxpayer won't have to pay for the damage.
Read next:
Enda Kenny 'on the road to recovery' after being diagnosed with cancer
Teen who died following alleged stabbing was 'loved by everyone around him'
Shane Byrne becomes fifth celeb to be eliminated from Dancing with the Stars
Sign up to the Dublin Live Newsletter to get all the latest Dublin news straight to your inbox.
