FAQs
As global awareness and knowledge of environmental impacts have increased, Roche believes that existing landfills containing hazardous wastes threatening the environment should be addressed proactively, even if this entails applying solutions exceeding the individual country’s legal framework to reduce its environmental footprint and minimise its environmental impact.
Roche is striving to remove the prevailing contamination in soil and groundwater as completely as possible and is committed to a proactive, holistic, environmentally, and socially responsible risk integrated approach to developing the best course of site closure.
As Roche wants to deliver a clean site, with the potential for the creation of sustainable jobs into the future, and a positive legacy in Clare and Ireland, Roche intends to decommission all buildings on site and remove equipment to prepare them for demolition. Roche intends to return specific areas of the site, including the historic landfill, to a brownfield site by removing waste material. This is known as site remediation.
The proposed decommissioning project involves the removal of most buildings, structures, and infrastructure currently within the existing site boundary fencing and the remediation of identified areas of environmental concern to return a brownfield site for future appropriate use.
As with all construction projects there will be disruption to the community of Clarecastle, primarily due to the movement of project vehicles. Every effort has been made to reduce this disruption as far as reasonably practicable.
The excavations in the areas of environmental concern on site will be carried out in negative pressure enclosures to minimise dust, odour, and vapour emissions.
Dust suppression (misting) measures will also be implemented during the demolition works.
It is also proposed to use water assisted dust sweeper(s) on the access and local roads, to remove, as necessary any material tracked out of the site.
Noise from works on the site will be managed by compliance with normal construction working hours, use of mobile acoustic barriers for particularly noisy works and adherence to the codes of practice for construction works.
A site remediation project team, led by a project manager and overseen by a Roche project owner, will remain on site to oversee and undertake the remediation process. Roche will also have a communications team on site to handle all queries from the public related to any aspect of site remediation. A facilities management contractor and an environmental services management contractor have already been contracted and specialist contractors for strip out and decommissioning will be contracted. Roche will have oversight and all work will be undertaken to Roche procedures.
The work will be carried out in accordance with the revised licence issued by the EPA, this will include mandatory monitoring requirements (similar to how the site operated during manufacturing).
The demolition and excavation works will take approximately three years. Groundwater remediation and monitoring will take a further four to five years subject to agreement with the EPA.
Disruption as a result of the proposed project will primarily be due to the volume of HGV traffic required to remove waste and transport material to the site. This will be during the demolition and excavation of areas of environmental concern which is expected to last approximately three years.
There will be wheel washes for departing vehicles on-site. It is also proposed to use water assisted dust sweeper(s) on the access and local roads, to remove, as necessary any material tracked out of the site.
A construction traffic management plan will set out the proposed routing methodology for HGVs arriving to and departing from the site, to minimise the impact of traffic flows on the local road network during the peak AM and PM hours which will be subject to agreement with Clare County Council.
All vehicular access to and from the site will be via Clarehill, along Patrick Street and then along Main Street and the R458 to junction 11 on the M18.
The proposed construction hours are:
Mon to Fri: 7.00 to 19.00 (with the exception of Nov to Jan where works will be restricted to daylight hours)
Sat: 8.00 to 14.00
No night works are proposed