Until recently, it was common to see the lads of various ages fishing with rod and tackle from the bridge between Ringaskiddy and Haulbowline Island. Also down on the shore at both Paddy’s Point and Rocky Island.
In the middle of July 2008, even after the Chromium 6 had hit the fan (front page Irish Examiner 26/6/08), at least two local potting boats were seen by Cobh residents fishing off the toxic East Tip. Apart from the obvious likelihood of heavy metal poisoning for anyone eating the shrimp, green crab or lobster catch, the pots probably disturb the sediments and help redistribute the heavy metals and other contaminants around Cork Harbour.
- Why are there no “fishing prohibited” notices around Ringaskiddy, Cobh, Rocky Island and Haulbowline to warn anglers (including the large number of visitors to Cork Harbour from elsewhere in Ireland and from overseas who wouldn’t be aware of the local dangers of the Ispat legacy)?
- Why are fishing boats still potting, especially off the East Tip? We thought there was supposed to be a ban on fishing these toxic grounds anyway?
- What happened to the catch? Did the shrimps and/or other crustaceans get sold locally (to posh restaurants) or was it exported and is now poisoning some Spanish kid?
- What does BIM and the Marine Institute have to say about this travesty?
On 11 July 2008 she told Mark Masterson (Senior Scientist with White Young Green Environmental (Ireland) Ltd) who is currently investigating sediment contamination around Haulbowline Island as part of WYG consultancy report to the Department of the Environment, due in late August:
“You will note high lead (Pb) at the site near Ringaskiddy - shoreline on the channel opposite Spike Island”That would be Paddy’s Point and the West Channel then.
The Marine Institute spreadsheet data highlighted in red clearly show that mussels at Ringaskiddy are contaminated with lead (Pb) and in the past (when Ispat was active) with Cadmium, Zinc and probably other metals as well. Note that not all the toxic metals known to be in East Tip (Appendix I of WYG 2005 report) are being monitored!
The limits (i.e. “strictest standard and guidance values applied by various OSPARCOM countries for contaminants in shellfish for the assessment of the possible hazards to human health”) that we added to the spreadsheet are taken from Department of the Marine July 1995 document.
* Mussels are sedentary filter-feeders which readily accumulate contaminants from the surrounding seawater and are recommended indicators of marine environmental quality.
Sediment contamination
It is, of course, unsurprising that the marine sediments both around Haulbowline and within the Naval Base Dockyard are contaminated with the full range of toxic waste and settled dust emissions from the former Irish Steel/Ispat site on the Island.
The ‘Report of Seabed Samples - Naval Base Haulbowline, June 2003’ by Hydrographic Surveys Ltd of Crosshaven for the Department of Defence at Haulbowline clearly shows high levels of sediment contamination at the Naval Basin (locations 1-5), near Spencer’s Jetty (locations 6-7) and in front of the recently burned out Glucksman Marine Building, which housed the UCC Coastal and Marine Resources Centre overlooking Rat Island (location 8).
The samples were collected on 23 June 2003 and analysed by Mercury Analytical Ltd, Limerick. Note: 1 ‘part per million’ (ppm) is the same as 1 ‘mg/kg’.
| | | Haulbowline mg/kg (or ppm) | Sample Location |
| Cadmium | 0.20 | 0.08 | 5 Basin |
| Chromium | 60.00 | 14.50 | 5 Basin |
| Copper | 20.00 | 45.00 | 5 Basin |
| Lead | 35.00 | 85.40 | 5 Basin |
| Mercury | 0.05 | 0.49 | 5 Basin |
| Nickel | 30.00 | 12.40 | 5 Basin |
| Zinc | 90.00 | 679.00 | 5 Basin |
* BC or “Background concentrations” are OSPAR assessment tools intended to represent the concentrations of certain hazardous substances that would be expected in the North-East Atlantic if certain industrial developments had not happened. They represent the concentrations of those substances at “remote” sites, or in “pristine” conditions based on contemporary or historical data respectively, in the absence of significant mineralisation and/or oceanographic influences. In this way they relate to the background values referred to in the OSPAR Hazardous Substances Strategy. BCs do not represent target values and should not be used as such. Source: Agreement on Background Concentrations for Contaminants in Seawater, Biota and Sediment (OSPAR Agreement 2005-6).
This is not new knowledge. A 1992 report ‘Analysis of sediments from Haulbowline’ by EOLAS for the Department of Defence at the Naval Base. In June 1997 the report ‘Haulbowline Naval Base - Analysis of Sediment Prior to Dredging and Disposal by Dumping at Sea’ commissioned by the Department of the Marine and carried out by UCC Aquatic Services Unit, gives the following (highest) levels of metals in sediments (mg/kg) in the Naval Basin:
| | 1992 | 1997 |
| Arsenic | 9.1 | 50 |
| Cadmium | <0.9 | <1 |
| Chromium | 45.1 | 147 |
| Copper | 46.2 | 114 |
| Lead | 53 | 68 |
| Manganese | 401.4 | 509 |
| Mercury | <0.15 | 0.217 |
| Nickel | 26.1 | 57 |
| Zinc | 191.9 | 337 |
It is not just around Haulbowline Island that the sediments are contaminated. Analyses of sediment grab samples taken just off Cobh deepwater quay (west of the Heritage Centre and railway station) by Glover Site Investigations Ltd in June 2007 and September 2007 in connection with dredging on either side of the existing berthing basin for the giant cruise ships found similarly (highest) levels of metals (mg/kg):
| | June 2007 | Sept 2007 |
| Arsenic | 6.45 | 12.9 |
| Cadmium | <0.1 | 0.045 |
| Chromium | 45.8 | 21.7 |
| Copper | 19.6 | 7.1 |
| Lead | 78.2 | 10.6 |
| Mercury | <2.0 | <0.05 |
| Nickel | 50.6 | 18.0 |
| Zinc | 125 | 47.9 |
So, anyone fancy fish for supper?
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