Tag Archives: Pollution

Pollution report at Skerries – 19th April 2011

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At 09:25 this morning, the Skerries Coast Guard team were tasked to investigate a public report of pollution on the North Beach in Skerries. The caller reported a murky orange substance at the water’s edge, stretching for several metres along the shore.

Upon arrival at the scene, the Skerries Coast Guard team investigated the substance and concluded it was an algal bloom – a naturally occurring phenomenon that frequently occurs on the North Beach. Given the recent good weather, the concentration of algae in the water may have increased, leading to the orange discolouration. This is also known colloquially as “Red Tide”. This poses no serious threat to humans, other than possible mild skin irritation in some cases.

The Skerries Coast Guard team conducted a detailed analysis of the algal bloom and this information will be passed to the Marine Institute in Galway to further their ongoing research into algal blooms in Irish waters.

Water sample collected from North Beach

Incident # 6 of 2011

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Incident at Skerries harbour – 3rd March 2011

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At 20:25 this evening the Skerries Coast Guard team were tasked to investigate reports of a swamped fishing vessel at Skerries harbour.  Attempts were being made by the skipper to salvage the vessel and further assistance was requested from both the Coast Guard and Skerries Fire Brigade.

The Skerries Coast Guard team arrived on scene within minutes and surveyed the scene.  The skipper was requested to remove the EPIRB from the vessel to prevent accidental deployment of the distress signal. The Skerries Coast Guard team also monitored the pollution threat from the vessel which was carrying amounts of diesel and other oil onboard.

Shortly before 23:30, the numerous attempts by the Skipper to right the vessel finally proved successful and it was secured to the harbour wall. The Skerries Coast Guard team were stood down at 23:45.

Incident # 2 of 2011

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Training – HazChem shoreline response

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Today, the volunteers of Skerries Coast Guard undertook routine training in scene management of incidents involving hazardous materials. This training is vital as the Skerries team could be the first emergency services to arrive at the scene of an incident involving a hazardous material.

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The exercise involved scenario based training in HazChem search techniques,  including use of the international HazChem identification and action codes. The primary aim when responding to such incidents is to quickly identify the specific or generic classification of the material(s) involved in the incident, and to protect both on-scene emergency services personnel and the general public during this initial response phase of the incident.

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Rescue training – Rush north beach

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This evening, the volunteers of Skerries Coast Guard undertook search and rescue training at the North Beach in Rush. This consisted of a scenario based exercise that included rescue of persons trapped on the beach, dealing with suspected shoreline pollution and coastal search techniques.

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Weather conditions on scene were challenging with poor visibility and slight SW winds.

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