Mike
Dunning - 7-Sep-2006 - A china clay company was
today ordered to pay £3,325 in fines and
costs for polluting the River Plym with clay slurry.
The case was brought by the Environment Agency.
WBB Minerals separates china
clay from unwanted quarried materials at Shaugh
Quarry near Plymouth. Water is then added to the
china clay to produce a thick white liquid known
as clay slurry.
On the January 4, 2006 a pipeline
transporting clay slurry off site burst causing
the material to leak into the River Plym via a
tributary. This resulted in serious discoloration
and pollution affecting a 12 kilometre stretch
of the river.
Environment Agency officers
visited Shaugh Quarry after the company self-reported
the incident. The river was flowing white and
there was a fine white deposit on the river bed.
The leak was found during a
routine inspection. Site operators stopped the
clay slurry from passing through the pipes. Clean
water from the effected tributary was diverted
away from the contamination using a dam.
Environment Agency tests proved
the suspended solids in the sampled river water
ranged between 21mg/l and 135mg/l. Environment
Agency officers confirmed the expected results
for the river water on a normal dry day should
be less than 3mg/l.
WBB Minerals Ltd, of Brookside
Hall, Congleton Road, Sandbach, Cheshire, were
fined £2,000 and ordered to pay £1,325
costs by Plymouth magistrates after pleading guilty
to allowing polluting matter to enter controlled
waters, the River Plym via a tributary, contrary
to Section 85(1) and Section 85(6) of the Water
Resources Act 1991.
‘As well as having a negative
visual impact, high concentrations of clay slurry
can smother the spawning grounds of fish such
as salmon and sea trout. Companies must be vigilant
and take all necessary steps to ensure our rivers
and streams are not polluted by potentially harmful
materials such as clay slurry,’ said Mark Jacob
for the Environment Agency.
The Environment Agency’s
free 24 hour hotline for reporting environmental
incidents is 0800 80 70 60.
