Dumped syringes not dangerous, parents assured

October 1984

CATTLE syringes taken from the dustbins of a Bray factory have sparked off concern among local parents.

But according to the manufacturer involved, any traces of the veterinary medicine in the syringes would not be harmful.

And their statement was backed up by both a local vet and a doctor.

The row began when alarmed parents found children were using the syringes, from Ashford Laboratories on Boghall Road, as water pistols.

A large number of the items, which are normally used for treating milking cows suffering from mastitis, had fallen into the hands of children in the Boghall area.

A spokesman for Ashford Laboratories stressed that the syringes and their contents were not harmful in anyway.

‘These were rejected products which were put in our dustbins for removal to the refuse tip. They are not dangerous and there is no hazard involved,’ he said.

He said that the children who took them had been trespassing and that he had to chase them off on one occasion.

A local vet said that the substance in the syringes contained an antibiotic, a base liquid and an anti-inflammatory agent, none of these harmful.

A local doctor also agreed that the contents were harmless.