RESIDENTS living close to a Co Antrim landfill site have launched a legal action over an alleged infringement of their human rights.
People living near the Mullaghglass dump claim Belfast City Council and the Northern Ireland Environment Agency have failed to take decisive action over foul smells emanating from the site.
Alpha Management Resource, the landfill site owner, said it operated to "the highest environmental and industry standards".
Residents say the smell causes headaches and nausea, as well as affecting their mental health.
The site is located in the Lisburn and Castlereagh City Council but the residents behind the legal action live in the adjoining Belfast City Council area.
Their solicitor said Belfast City Council should have acted sooner to serve an abatement notice on Alpha Management Resource.
The notice served in May this year is currently being appealed.
The council said it had been investigating the odour at Mullaghglass landfill site "for some time" and has been working with NIEA to establish the cause.
It said legal correspondence had been sent to NIEA "but no formal action has been taken as yet".
Resident James McCarthy told the BBC that while isolating after contracting Covid earlier this year, he couldn't open the windows of his home due to the stench.
The Public Health Agency (PHA) said most of the unpleasant smells residents complained about "are not harmful to health".
"Based on the information provided to the PHA, it does not consider that this odour represents an immediate threat to the physical health of the population," a spokesperson said.
The Department of Agriculture, the Environment and Rural Affairs said Minister Edwin Poots had visited the site to meet the operator and had met residents to hear their concerns.
The department said NIEA was undertaking daily odour surveys in the area and had "engaged a third party to undertake additional gas monitoring in order to more fully understand the extent of the odour levels and related complaints".
"NIEA are also supporting Lisburn and Castlereagh City Council who are carrying out investigations under their statutory powers and continuing to liaise closely with the PHA who following a recent joint site visit did not raise any physical health concerns," a spokesperson said.
Alpha Management Resource said it "works to the highest environmental and industry standards" and that the site is compliant with environmental regulations.
