A RAT infested dumping site that has been found to contain toxic cancer-causing asbestos has still not been cleared up more than two months after it was first reported to the authorities, much to the distress of local residents.
In October industrial scale dumping was discovered at Spring Grove forest in Roslea, very close to the border.
Local Cllr John McCluskey, who called out both the Forest Service and the Environment Agency (NIEA) to the site, however he has now called on the Council to intervene there have been no attempts to deal with the problem.
Speaking at the December meeting of the Council’s environmental services committee, Cllr John McCluskey said: “A large lorry load of waste was tipped. Now it’s infested with rats, the neighbours are extremely worried about it, [environmental inspectors] came out to inspect it from Belfast, and it’s still there. Nothing has been done about it.
“The only report I got was that they found there was asbestos in it.”
Cllr McCluskey said he felt, between the Forest Service and NIEA, “one authority is passing it on to another. He asked the Council what he could do now.
Director of environment at the Council, Kevin O’Gara, said: “It’s a lorry load and its classified as illegal dumping, so it’s NIEA from the point of view of the volume.
“It’s NIEA from the point of view of the hazardous waste. It sounds like it’s on forestry land, so it’s between those agencies.”
Mr O’Gara said the Council would follow up with both agencies to see what they could to do about the dumping.
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