Residents claim asbestos, toxic chemicals and radioactivity may be unleashed
An unprecedented plan to excavate a giant waste dump dating back more than 60 years to make way for two new schools has prompted fears of an environmental disaster.
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North Lanarkshire Council last week gave the green light to building St Ambrose and Drumpark secondary schools on an old landfill site in Coatbridge. However, in order to prevent the build-up of explosive methane leaking from the site, the council is planning to remove all the waste.
For council officials this is "challenging", but, for local residents and politicians, it's frightening. "It's an appalling idea," said Joe Ambrose, 61, who overlooks the site from his front window.
The dump could include all kinds of hazardous wastes, including asbestos, heavy metals, toxic chemicals and radioactivity, he warned. "This will unleash the unknown on residents and the environment."
The site in Drumpellier Country Park next to Townhead Road was used to dispose of countless tonnes of municipal waste for 30 years from 1942 to 1972. Since it was closed, it has been grassed over to make eight full-size football and other sports pitches.
A full meeting of Labour-controlled North Lanarkshire Council voted 36 to 26 on Thursday evening in favour of locating the two-school campus on the site. Two other locations in Coatbridge - on Blair Road and on the site of the current St Ambrose school - were ruled out as less suitable.
As well as the dangers involved in digging out an old waste dump, opponents of the scheme say the cost - currently estimated at £3 million - is likely to escalate. According to the SNP MSP for Central Scotland, John Wilson, the final clean-up cost could end up exceeding the £38m needed to build the schools.
"This is uncharted territory. No local authority in Scotland or Britain has taken this kind of action before. No-one knows the cost, and no-one knows what's in the site," he said.
"This decision clearly shows a failure to understand the environmental implications of opening up the site, and the estimated cost fails to recognise the full extent of decontaminating the site."
Concerns about North Lanarkshire's plan have also been voiced by the body representing professionals in the waste industry, the Chartered Institution of Wastes Management (CIWM). It pointed out there would be problems disposing of the waste in another landfill site.
"It is not normal practice to remove waste and redevelop an old landfill," CIWM's Scottish spokeswoman, Catherine Maclean, told the Sunday Herald. "The costs would normally prove prohibitive."
Extensive engineering work would be required, and disposing of the extracted waste would be much more tightly controlled now than it would have been in the 1950s and 1960s. "Any hazardous waste in particular would be subject to high regulatory controls," said Maclean.
"The former site is unlikely to have been constructed to the same engineering standards of today. Any excavation might have negative impacts on underlying groundwater."
According to Crawford Morgan, head of protective services at North Lanarkshire Council, the ground was contaminated and the presence of asbestos and other hazardous wastes couldn't be ruled out. "Environmentally, it's challenging, but it can be addressed," he said. "It will need to be carefully dealt with."
Morgan pointed out that the other two locations considered for the schools also had "site condition problems", and had been rejected.
"After public consultations and site investigations, there is a broad consensus in favour of this site," he argued.
Murdo Maciver, North Lanarkshire Council's head of educational resources, added: "We accept the site conditions are difficult. However, our investigations to date indicate that any difficulties can be resolved and the removal of materials from the site to allow works to go ahead will take place under strict licensed conditions.
"As with any site in a position like this, further works will be required to complete a more thorough investigation of the site. However, based on the professional technical advice we have received, we are confident all site-related issues can be resolved, the project can progress and we have budgeted accordingly."
