AQW 10748/22-27

Mr Gerry Carroll
People Before Profit Alliance
West Belfast

Tabled Date: 24/04/2024
Answered On Date: 01/05/2024
Priority Written: No

Question:
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs whether levels of per- and polyflouroalkyl substances and forever chemicals are (i) being tested for; and (ii) present in the water quality sampling being undertaken by his Department on the River Faughan, in the vicinity of the Mobuoy illegal landfill site.

Answer:

A comprehensive Environmental Monitoring Programme is in place for the Mobuoy Site which includes testing for per- and polyflouroalkyl (PFAS) substances, sometimes referred to as ‘forever chemicals’.

PFAS sampling for the Mobuoy site includes testing of the river Faughan upstream and downstream of the site; and sampling of the groundwater underlying the waste site. There have been no detections of PFAS substances to date from samples taken from the river Faughan upstream or downstream of the site.

PFAS substances have been detected within the groundwaters underlying the Mobuoy site as would be expected from a site containing landfilled material due to the widespread use of PFASs in everyday products. Under current Northern Ireland and UK legislation there are no environmental quality standards set for PFAS substances; with the exception of PFOS (Perfluorooctane sulfonic acid). There has been no detection of PFOS to date within the site groundwaters.