Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council has acknowledged that there is a risk of methane gas being released from a landfill site at Ballyogan in south Dublin. This is due to excavation works scheduled to fully commence there in the coming weeks. John Downesreports.
However, it said the results of a risk assessment had shown that the danger of gas migration was "minimal", in part because "active gas abstraction is happening in the vicinity of the excavation areas."
Ballyogan is located in south Dublin close to Carrickmines and Stepaside.
Amid calls from local residents for the planned works to be halted, the council said it is eager to install the final capping system on the landfill, which closed in 2005, so that it can be converted to parkland.
But Nicola Curry, chairwoman of the Ballyogan environment group, said she was worried about the possibility of any migration of methane gas, which is odourless, towards nearby residential areas. Methane gas is potentially explosive and also contributes to global warming.
Ms Curry estimated that up to 4,000 houses are in the vicinity of the eastern and southern boundary areas of the landfill site where the works are to be conducted. While the council had appointed a dedicated liaison person during the course of the works, she claimed that this amounted to "closing the stable door after the horse has bolted."
"We would like them to stop it and not disturb the landfill," she said.
"We would also like to see the results of the risk assessment.There has not been enough consultation with residents."
In a leaflet distributed to residents, the council said it was necessary to carry out the "reprofiling works", which will involve the excavation of previously deposited waste and its relocation to another area of the landfill.
"Your property may, on occasion, experience some odours during the waste removal works," it also states.
However, the council yesterday said residents of the area should not experience any odours from the works, once specific mitigation measures were implemented.
Preparatory works on the site started last week, with the entire project expected to take 10 weeks.
The council also said there was not sufficient electrical safety clearance between the existing ground levels and the ESB lines at the landfill.
"This would present an increased risk to construction traffic involved in the final capping of the landfill and its conversion to a parkland amenity," a spokeswoman said.
"In addition to this, the conversion of the landfill to a park will result in additional public traffic under and adjacent to the lines and this was considered by ESB International when calculating the safe clearances required under the lines."
The possibility of raising the ESB lines had been considered but could take up to two years for planning permission.
"The options were discussed with ESB International and it was agreed that these works were the optimum solution," the spokeswoman said.