Drinking water of over 9,000 in Donegal exposed to toxic chemical

Over 9,000 people in Donegal could be exposed to a potentially toxic chemical in their drinking water.

Uisce Éireann is currently taking advice on whether it needs to warn consumers that their drinking water contains a level of trihalomethanes (THMs) in excess of that permitted under European Union limits.

The European Court of Justice (ECJ) found against Ireland in respect of THMs in recent weekend.

A remedial action list by the Environmental Protection Agency contains supplies not named in the ECJ case.

Those cases exceed the limit of 100 micrograms per litre.

Among the affected supplies are in Ardara, Glenties, Lettermacaward and Milford.

In the Ardara-Glenties area, there are 3,518 people possibly exposed, while a supply serving 3,714 people in Milford is affected as is a supply relaxing to 2,266 people in Lettermacaward.

The ECJ ruled that Ireland failed to protect drinking water from the chemicals.

“In the present case, the failure to comply with the parametric value set for THMs constitutes, by definition, a potential danger to human health,” the ECJ statement said.

The ruling found Ireland failed to meet obligations to rid public and private water supplies of THMs, which may arise when chlorine is added to peaty water as part of the purification process.

The chemicals are classed as being ‘possibly carcinogenic’ to humans.

The EPA has said there is no acute risk in the short term to people from the water.

The HSE said: “The benefits of using chlorine to treat our drinking water are much greater than any possible health risk from THMs.”

Where Uisce Éireann considers that a supply intended for human consumption ‘constitutes a potential danger to human health’, those possibly affected are to be ‘informed properly’ and also ‘given the necessary advice’.

The Friends of the Irish Environment said in a statement:  “Ireland’s position is that they did not have to notify the consumers as it was not a danger to public health.

“This Irish claim was finally roundly condemned by last week’s court judgment: ‘In the present case, the failure to comply with the parametric value set for THMs constitutes, by definition, a potential danger to human health, since water that does not meet that minimum requirement cannot be considered to be wholesome and clean’.

“It is now 12 years since we first raised the issue of trihalomethanes in drinking water. Can we now agree that this is a critical issue that demands immediate and decisive action to safeguard public health and ensure the safety of our drinking water?”