AN UNDERGROUND fire continued to rage yesterday at an abandoned waste dump in Kerdiffstown, Co Kildare, attended by the fire services and inspectors from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
The fire started eight days ago in a mixed-waste stockpile at the site and is classified as a “below-surface fire”, said the agency. Air quality monitoring showed that the toxic smoke was “causing a localised environmental impact”.
The EPA said it was informed on January 18th, via its emergency line, of a serious fire at the Neiphin Trading site at Kerdiffstown, Naas.
“The fire services are in attendance and EPA inspectors have visited the scene over a number of days,” it said.
Kildare County Council has not ruled out evacuating nearby residents, saying this would be considered if the situation became more grave. One of the premises in the vicinity is a holiday home for elderly people, run by the Society of St Vincent de Paul.
Following an initial assessment, EPA inspectors carried out air quality monitoring last Friday and Saturday on the site and in the surrounding area. The results are being provided to the Kildare fire service and the Health Service Executive.
The EPA inspectors met with fire service personnel on Monday “to plan for the ongoing emergency response to the fire. The fire services are continuing to assess the fire and it is currently not known when the fire will be extinguished,” the agency said in a statement.
A firm expert in the assessment of landfill fires has been retained by the EPA to advise on how to deal with the outbreak. The EPA said it had installed a continuous air monitoring unit in the Kerdiffstown area.
The Kerdiffstown site was closed last year on foot of a High Court order sought by the EPA. Since then, Neiphin Trading Ltd – which had been operating the dump – has gone into liquidation, with associated companies either in receivership or no longer trading.
The agency is now seeking orders in the High Court against the directors of Neiphin, Dean Waste and Jenzsoph to make them liable for the cost of cleaning the site. A report commissioned by the EPA last year estimated this could be as much as €30 million.
