“If only I could catch the individual who dumped a large quantity of asbestos in Annagortha Bog,” was the regret of Cllr Frankie Keena this week.
The councillor expressed his anger at the health hazard posed by the discovery of the sizeable quantity of asbestos abandoned in the bog.
“It is an absolute disgrace. The person who carried out this deed has no regard for the environment, or more importantly for human health,” he said.
“For someone to do this is like pointing a loaded gun at a person and pulling the trigger.”
Cllr Keena pointed out that asbestos material can cause cancer, and is particularly dangerous when it is broken and the dust becomes airborne.
“It is so important to get this message out to the public to warn them to keep away from this illegal deposit. I am very conscious that we are in the middle of the turf saving season and that there may be children in the bog who could start playing with this material, so I urge adults to keep them away from this until it is removed,” he warned.
“There are strict procedures to follow to properly dispose of asbestos, and obviously this evil person did not want to pay the necessary costs to do this.
“I have reported this outrageous act to the Council, the HSE and the Gardai. There is an urgent need to remove it.
“Finally I urge the public to contact me if they witnessed anybody carrying out this act or depositing any other type of material in our bogs and ditches,” concluded Cllr Keena.
