In the town of Mobuoy, Northern Ireland, the government has neglected an illegal dangerous waste dump site in the area, posing a danger to the environment and human lives in the city.
In 2015, Northern Irish authorities estimated that about 1 million tonnes of waste could have been deposited at the Mobuoy dump site. Before the 2015 dump, the site was the focus of an investigation conducted by the Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA), which saw two people arrested in November, 2012. The operator’s licence for the site was later revoked in June, 2013. This means it is illegal to dump waste at the site, but officials never took action, allowing new waste to be dumped in 2015.
In February this year, the Belfast Telegraph reported that toxic waste from dump site is polluting the Faughan River, which supplies drinking water to Londonderry and its environs.
Again, recently, the Londonderry Sentinel also reported the discovery of dangerous cancer-causing poisons, heavy metals, pesticides, tarry, coal wastes and a compound that was used to make tear gas during the First World War, all buried at the dump site. This report sparked outrage across the city. Environmental activists expressed grave concerns, urging city officials to clean-up the waste in the area to avoid a disaster.
However, despite the concerns raised by many in the city, city officials have still done nothing to the site. When it was revealed that the dump is polluting the Faughan River, the NIEA issued a statement downplaying the report.
This has concerned citizens in the country, who are now taking actions, since their government has failed them. Environmental activists, who say they are affiliated with Anonymous in the Londonderry area, have said they will go and clean the waste by themselves.
The group, calling themselves Anonymous North West released a statement to local media revealing they decided to do the cleaning to avoid further pollution of the Faughan River as a result of the proximity nature of the site to the river. The group said they have been closely monitoring the situation for more than three years now, and has realized that the government together with city officials is not committed to getting rid of the waste from the area.
In December 2013, an independent review known as The Mills Report highlighted that there were systemic failures in the management and regulation of waste in Northern Ireland, including significant criminal infiltration. It also identified a lack of a joined-up approach to tackling this problem with agencies often working in silos, and that the partnership working with councils, industry and the waste sector was critical. The report reviewed waste disposal at the Mobuoy site, making these damning revelations.
“Anonymous North West shares the fears of many residents of Derry and the North West that a wet winter will see this toxic waste flooding down into the Faughan creating a Tsunami of pollution. The current situation places inhabitants of Derry and the North West in grave danger. We cannot and will not stand by and allow the destruction of The River Faughan and the greater landscape to continue. The response from the Northern Ireland Executive has been at best totally inadequate and shameful. Everyday, the situation is worsening threatening our vital wildlife, Atlantic salmon populations and of course impacting negatively on the city’s drinking water quality. Water is life!” Anonymous North West said in a statement.
The activists further said in the statement: “Sixty percent of Derry’s drinking water is extracted from the river. It is estimated that there are 913,105m3 of waste that remains buried at the Mobuoy Road site. Arsenic, cadium, chromium, copper, lead, nickel and mercury are thought to be all present, as are the major ions aluminium, ion, manganese and sodium.”
The group said that due to the lackadaisical attitude of city authorities and the government, they are left with no option than to go and clear the area themselves.
According to the group, by doing this, it will force authorities to take immediate action without delay; to remove all the waste dumped at the site in its entirety, restoring the Faughan landscape to its former glory so that it can be afforded maximum protection and enjoyed by future generations.
Meanwhile, after the publication of the statement by Anonymous, the Northern Irish Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) has responded that there was no evidence to suggest the water supply had been affected, and that the group should not enter the illegal dump site.
The DAERA said the area is not safe, discouraging anyone from any kind of involvement at the site. It said dealing with illegal controlled waste, or any other landfill site, requires strict health and safety measures.
You want to support Anonymous Independent & Investigative News? Please, follow us on Twitter: Follow @AnonymousNewsHQ
This article (Government Failure: Anonymous Activists Vow to Clean-Up Illegal Waste Site in United Kingdom) is a free and open source. You have permission to republish this article under a Creative Commons license with attribution to the author and AnonHQ.com
