28/12/2005 - A clean-up operation is underway at Taunton following a fuel spill at an industrial estate that has left a stretch of the River Tone polluted by diesel. Environment Agency officers are using anti-pollution booms to recover the oil that leaked from a storage tank outside an abbatoir at Roughmoor. The alarm was raised by a fisherman early yesterday after he noticed an ‘oily sheen’ on the surface of the water at Greenbrook Mill, Roughmoor.

Both Wessex Water and Taunton Deane District Council have been alerted. The spill does not pose a risk to local water supplies and, so far, there have been no fish deaths reported. Environment Agency staff will continue to monitor the river to assess the impact of the spill. Early reports indicate that a fuel tap on an oil storage tank at Stillmans Abbatoir on the Staplegrove Mill Industrial Estate was inadvertently left on allowing an estimated 200 litres of diesel to escape.

The owners have been questioned and the Environment Agency will prepare a report with a view to possible legal action. The diesel spilled across the Abbatoir yard and into a nearby ditch via surface water drains before entering a tributary of the River Tone. Prompt reporting of the pollution and the early deployment of booms helped limit the impact of the spill and made it possible for the Agency to recover a fair amount of the fuel.

However, there are signs some of the oil has spread downstream with reports of oily discoloration on the surface of the Tone in Taunton town centre. ‘Luckily we were able to respond rapidly to this incident after receiving an early call from a member of the public. It was fortunate a lot of the oil became trapped in a ditch and we were able to prevent most of it from leaking into a nearby stream,’ said Chris Francis for the Environment Agency. ‘It could have been a lot worse.

This incident has not had a significant impact on the river and wildlife and where discoloration is evident, it should soon disperse. This type of surface pollution often looks worse than it is,’ said Mr Francis. To report pollution incidents members of the public can call the Environment Agency’s free 24 hour hotline 0800 80 70 60.