Asbestos waste level increased

The KTK landfill operation north of Kilcullen has had its licence to accept asbestos waste doubled to 6,000 tonnes per year.

This follows a review of the landfill's licence by the Environmental Protection Agency.

"We realised that there is more asbestos waste out there than was originally thought," Dr Mary Kelly, director general of the EPA said yesterday.

She was speaking to Pat Kenny on his radio programme, and was responding to a phone query about why a previous limit of 3,000 tonnes had been exceeded by almost 500 tonnes in 2004.

Asbestos is classed as hazardous waste, but is harmless to the environment when buried under prescribed conditions in landfill facilities.

Brian Byrne.