Drinking water provided to homes in Cavan and Monaghan by a private company was contaminated with a toxic chemical, an RTÉ investigation revealed yesterday.
The water supply, which serves some 10,000 people, was found to have contained phenol, a toxic chemical that was part of a product used by supplier Veolia to treat water in April.
Suspicions arose about the water supply when subscribers to five Veolia schemes, four in Cavan and one in Monaghan, began to complain about oral blisters, sores and stomach problems in April.
Veolia said yesterday that it was "committed to do its utmost to provide good quality water to its customers. Veolia Water, which has been involved in group water schemes for more than seven years, has mobilised extensive resources to address the situation and, at all times, has worked in close partnership with all the main stakeholders, the group water schemes, the National Federation of Group Water Schemes, the local authorities and the HSE". The investigation found environmental solutions company Enva sold a product containing phenol traces, which cost a fraction of what the properly produced chemical did, to Veolia.
Enva said it told the end user that the product was not suitable for treating drinking water. However, the technical data supplied with the chemical allegedly does not state this is the case.
Enva said they were "co-operating fully with the relevant authority investigation into the incident and believe it would be inappropriate to comment any further". A precautionary ban is in place on the Co Monaghan water supply, but service has been restored in Co Cavan.
