Warning not to eat fish caught in river

April 2002

People from the Arklow area were being warned this week not to eat fish caught in the River Avoca because it could be a danger to health.

Fish now appearing in the once dead river could be contaminated with potentially lethal heavy metals from the former mining operation in Avoca, it is being claimed.

The warning of the potential dangers of eating fish caught in the stretch of the Avoca River between Avoca and Arklow has come from Green Party councillor Deirdre de Burca, who says that the lower Avoca river is seriously contaminated with leachate from the abandoned mines, and has particularly high concentrations of heavy metals.

According to a Life project report, the river contains iron, aluminium and zinc in high concentration with six other highly poisonous or harmful metals also present in smaller amounts.

Furthermore, she says that the river is also affected by leakage from Wicklow County Council’s landfill at nearby Ballymurtagh.

A recent, as yet unpublished study, is reported to have found a higher risk of birth defects among children whose mothers live near landfill sites.

Cllr de Burca said that the Avoca River which had been dead down stream since the late 1960s had started to come back to life in recent years due to the success of the EU Life project.

Calling for a comprehensive report into the possible dangers of eating fish caught in the lower Avoca River, she said that until they knew the situation, the council should post signs notifying anglers of the potential dangers.