09/05/2005 - A South Yorkshire
coking works has been fined £13,500
by Barnsley magistrates today after breaching
sulphur dioxide emission limits which caused
people to complain of smells and breathing
difficulties.
Monckton Coke and Chemical Company Limited,
of Blyth Road, Harworth, Doncaster admitted
one charge of breaching the limits on 17 February
2004 at Royston, as set out in its operating
permit issued by the Environment Agency.
The company asked for two other breaches
to be taken into consideration. It was ordered
to pay costs of £2,400 to the Environment
Agency, which brought the case.
Jill Fogg, prosecuting for the Environment
Agency, told the court that the breach occurred
after the company had a problem with its supply
of low-sulphur coal and had to use coal with
a higher sulphur content.
The process of making coke from coal is regulated
by the Environment Agency under the Pollution
Prevention and Control Regulations 2000. The
Agency issues the company a permit setting
certain conditions designed to protect the
environment and human health.
Monckton applied to the Environment Agency
for a variation to its permit which would
increase the level of sulphur contained in
the coal that was being used in its process.
This was granted and the company was able
to continue operating, mixing the remaining
stocks of low-sulphur coal with a new supply.
The variation also required the company to
increase the frequency of its monitoring to
twice weekly.
However, errors in the company’s calculations
of the mixture of new and old coal meant that
the emissions were higher than allowed for
in the permit.
The company reported this to the Environment
Agency, as the permit requires it to do, and
an investigation was launched.
Between 20 February and 2 March 2004 - the
period the company’s monitoring showed it
was breaching sulphur dioxide emission limits
- the Environment Agency received four complaints
from members of the public about breathing
difficulties and smells alleged to be coming
from the Monckton site.
Sulphur dioxide is an irritant and can lead
to breathing difficulties. It is also known
to contribute to the production of acid rain.
Figures from Barnsley Metropolitan Council
supplied to the Environment Agency as part
of its investigation showed that the air quality
standard for the area were above the air quality
monitoring limits on four occasions. Although
there could be other factors that influenced
these results, all of the breaches were during
the time the company was exceeding its emissions
limits.
In mitigation, Monckton said if it had halted
production, it would have caused damage to
the ovens which would have cost around £15
million to repair and would have put the firm
out of business.
Speaking after the court case, Environment
Agency site inspector Anne Wallace said: "Companies
have a duty to make sure that its processes
do not harm the environment or have an impact
on people living in its vicinity. We take
any breach of this kind extremely seriously
and today’s court case shows that our hard-line
has the backing of the courts."
The Environment Agency is the leading organisation
for protecting and improving the environment
in England and Wales. It is responsible for
making sure that air, land and water are looked
after by today’s society, so that tomorrow’s
generations inherit a cleaner, healthier world.
NOTES
The charge is as follows:
In the district of Barnsley on 17 February
2004 at Lundhill Lane, Royston did fail to
comply with condition 6.1.2 of permit BK3441
as varied, by Variation Notices BU3612, BV0031,
BV3375 and BX3821, namely did discharge to
the atmosphere emissions with sulphur dioxide
concentration levels of 8230 mg/m3 in excess
of the authorised limit of 4000 mg/m3.
This is contrary to regulation 32 (1) (b)
and 32 (2) of the Pollution Prevention and
Control Regulations 2000.
