Environmental enforcement news from Industrial Environmental Management

ICI guilty of solvents disposal offences

ICI Chemicals & Polymers has been fined £5,500, and ordered to pay £8,300 in costs, for waste offences at its site in Runcorn, Cheshire. ICI pleaded guilty to two offences relating to the disposal of waste removed by contractors during drain-cleaning. The waste contained chlorinated solvents, which are not permitted to be disposed of at ICI’s Randle Island landfill site, also in Runcorn. When the waste arrived at Randle Island, a member of the contractor’s staff was overcome by fumes from the waste, and had to be taken to hospital.

Conviction for second gas leak in six months

Chemical company Nipa Laboratories has been fined £21,290, following an acid gas leak, at its plant in Oswaldtwistle, Lancashire. The incident occurred in November 1998, barely six months after another gas leak incident. During the November leak about 25kg of toxic emissions were released from the site over a ten-minute period. The effects of the emissions – containing sulphur dioxide and hydrogen chloride – were felt by members of the public living some distance from the site. Nipa Laboratories also failed to report the incident to the emergency services.

3C Waste Ltd has been fined £35,000 after admitting three breaches of its operating licence, at its Arpley landfill site in Warrington (see related story).