The ESB has begun removing quantities of asbestos discovered on open ground at a housing estate in Lanesborough, Co Longford.
Eighteen bags of the potentially hazardous material were removed by specialist contractors yesterday after it was uncovered in land between houses at Church View. A second discovery of asbestos was made yesterday at a building site a corner of the estate.
Enterprise Ireland and the ESB have carried out tests to establish whether any of the material may have been disturbed or escaped into the environment. A spokeswoman for the ESB said none of the tests identified the presence of asbestos in the air, where it could be inhaled by residents.
The asbestos had originally been removed in the 1970s from a local ESB peat-burning power station and buried in surrounding land. That earth was subsequently moved last summer by a building contractor who was installing a new oil-interceptor tank at the station.
The ESB said it had identified three other locations where the earth had been dumped: a Bord na Mona site in Co Roscommon, a football pitch on the Roscommon road near Lanesborough, and a site on the Ballymahon Road.
It said air and soil tests had found no evidence of asbestos on any of the sites.
The spokeswoman added: "Our information is that none of the earth was used in the building of the houses." The green space directly in front of homes at Church View has also been tested and has been found to be asbestos-free.
The discovery site nearby remains cordoned off to prevent the material from being disturbed.
The ESB station manager, Mr Jerry McKenna, and his staff have visited householders in the estate to inform them of the situation and to answer questions.
An ESB spokesman stressed: "Asbestos is only a hazard to human health if it is airborne in high quantities. As it is being removed, it is wetted down so that it does not get into the air."
Since the company began removing asbestos from outdoor sites in 1990, it has yet to detect any case of asbestos fibres escaping into the air, he said.
When inhaled, asbestos can give rise to various conditions, including asbestosis, a crippling lung disease, and mesothelioma, a cancer of the inner lining of the chest which can take up to 40 years to manifest itself.
Dr Dan Murphy, director of occupational medical services at the Health and Safety Authority, said the incidence of mesothelioma had risen from about one case a year a decade ago to seven cases last year. "Most of them you can do little to prevent because the exposure to asbestos occurred a long time ago."
He said asbestos fibres could be found in small doses in the air, adding that the risk was less related to the size of the dose than to the duration of time over which fibres were inhaled. Those working in construction crafts such as demolition, carpentry and plumbing were most susceptible to asbestos-related illnesses.
