Antrim and Newtownabbey: 80 tonnes of sand at bonfire base were contaminated and ‘unlikely those responsible would be identified’, council told
Asbestos was mixed with sand at the base of a bonfire when it was set alight in Randalstown on the night of July 11, minutes of a meeting of Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council’s Community Development Committee said.
A report presented to councillors behind closed doors at a meeting last month stated the “highly toxic and dangerous waste substance was found to have contaminated the entire bonfire sand base” in the car park at Neillsbrook Community Centre.
Eighty tonnes of sand were found to have been contaminated and had to be removed during the clean-up operation, the report stated.
The committee report explained: “Due to the significant health and safety risk of asbestos and the accessibility of the site to the public, the council’s appointed asbestos consultant was contacted immediately to test for the presence of the substance. Approximately 80 tonnes of sand was deemed contaminated and had to be removed.
“The dispersal and mixing of the asbestos throughout the sand indicate that this toxic waste was within the bonfire before the lighting of the bonfire on 11 July.”
The report also highlighted the “unavoidable urgency for removal due to the significant health and safety risk” adding that the council “could not adhere to the time limits for a procurement process” to cover the undisclosed cost of the clean-up.
Councillors were advised it was “unlikely that those responsible would be identified”. It was noted the quantity of sand base, laid with paving stone, forms a “normal part of the council’s ground protection measure” at this site.
At last month’s meeting of the borough council, members did a U-turn on a decision by the Community Development Committee to impose a financial penalty on Neilsbrook following the discovery of asbestos for a breach in the terms and conditions of the local authority’s bonfire management programme.
Flags were set alight at four bonfire sites in the borough – Neilsbrook, Doonbeg and Rathmullan Drive, Rathcoole, Newtownabbey and at Ballycraigy in Antrim.
Speaking at the meeting, Dunsilly Ulster Unionist Councillor Stewart Wilson said that the Neillsbrook group “feels they are the victims of an environmental crime”.
“The bonfire builders stand ready to engage with council to improve security,” he added.
A vote on a DUP proposal for no sanctions and the current programme to remain in place resulted in 19 votes in favour and 18 against.
Michelle Weir, Local Democracy Reporter