BOSS OF FIRM BEHIND KEROSENE LEAK SAYS ‘SORRY’
THE CEO of the firm behind the kerosene leak that led to 12,000 people being issued ‘Do Not Drink’ notices has apologised.
Ger Flynn, who runs Mullinahone Oil, said the leak was ‘weather-related’ and that he deeply regrets what happened.
Up to 10,000 litres of kerosene leaked from his depot in Mullinahone village, Co. Tipperary, over the weekend after a valve was damaged in Storm Emma. The kerosene flowed into the nearby River Anner, which supplies about 30% of what is needed for the Fethard public water system.
The leak entered the river about 8km from the point at which it is extracted and was then pumped up to the recently opened €11million Fethard Regional Water Treatment Plant on Slievenamon Mountain at Cloran. The contaminated water is then understood to have been pumped back into the homes of a number of the 12,000 people supplied with water from the plant.
As soon as Mr Flynn’s staff discovered the leak at around 7am on Monday, they contacted Tipperary County Council. Mr Flynn told the Irish Daily Mail last night: ‘It was an accidental weather-related spillage and once we became aware of it, we contacted the authorities. We are very sorry. We are all rural people here and we know only too well what this spillage means for everybody and it is something we deeply regret.’
He added: ‘We are still looking into what happened and we will be making sure that this never happens again.’
Tipperary Sinn Féin councillor David Dunne said last night: ‘Irish Water needs to explain how kerosene was able to get as far as it did into the system.’
Other than Fethard, there are up to 12 nearby villages and townlands affected, including Moyglass, Cloneen and Ballinure.
It is understood that it will take up to the middle of next week at least for the Fethard system to be fully back up and running.
Irish Water said last night: ‘Our focus at present is to safeguard public health and to restore a water supply to the affected communities as quickly as possible.’
Affected residents will receive their water mostly via a fleet of tankers.