International seminar on pyrite and mica will hear of issues in Mayo

MICA and pyrite campaigners from Donegal and Mayo, supported by the Left Group at the EU, will host an online international seminar this Wednesday (March 23) at 3.30 p.m. (Irish time).

The seminar brings together international experts and researchers to discuss the issue of deleterious materials found in concrete and concrete products. Hosted by the Left Group of MEPs in the European Parliament, this workshop will draw together MEPs, affected homeowners and specialist research scientists and engineers from Ireland, Switzerland, USA and Canada.

Delegates will provide an international perspective arising from their first-hand experience/research in each country into deleterious materials (i.e. mica, pyrite, pyrrhotite) associated with defective concrete/concrete blocks, their understanding of the issue and how it is being addressed internationally. Presentations will also be made by expert scientists and engineers with a track record of researching deleterious materials found in defective concrete/concrete products who are working with national bodies to improve standards of concrete manufacturing.

Among the speakers is Julie Tracey, an affected homeowner and campaigner, who will give an overview of defective concrete in Mayo.

Professor Paul Dunlop, an affected homeowner, mica campaigner and academic, who is part of the organising committee, stated: “Given the scale of the defective block issue in Donegal, Mayo, Clare, Sligo, Limerick and Tipperary and the pyrite heave issue in Leinster and other counties, there is an urgent need for extensive scientific research to be carried out to better understand these issues. As we have seen in Ireland, unchecked deleterious minerals in construction materials have devastating, life-changing consequences for thousands of families unlucky enough to find their homes contains such damaging substances.

“As an academic in the Earth Sciences at Ulster University, I have been able to reach out to experts and research scientists through my academic networks and to campaigners in the United States to draw together a knowledge base. We have been working hard to bring such a panel of experts together since campaigners first addressed the European Parliament on this issue back in December 2021 and with the support of the Left Group of MEPs, this is the next step in our journey of taking the defective blocks issue back into the heart of the EU Commission in Brussels. We have assembled a team of geologists, concrete scientists and engineers who are committed to researching defective concrete in Ireland with the aim of providing science useful for informing national standards in Ireland.

“At this open meeting attendees will have the opportunity to learn from some of the top researchers internationally about the impacts of geology, aggregates, mica, pyrite and pyrrhotite on concrete and buildings in different parts of the world, and how their research has changed national concrete standards to protect citizens. We need to ensure Ireland takes the same measures so that the defective blocks scandal can never happen again."

You can watch the event live here: https://left.eu/events/the-impact-on-family-homesof-defective-concrete-products/?fbclid=IwAR3_gH46l2SdTX4jLsEHpAeHU1AyVL7TNtvysDJ5kAbboes8UHtXqeUrn3k