from Sunday Herald, 21 June 2009
A record number of stinking, rule-breaking, pollution-spewing industrial plants across the country are being unmasked, named and shamed by the government’s official green watchdog this weekend.
The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (Sepa) is outing 36 sites from Shetland to the Borders as poor pollution performers in 2008. They include corporate giants like BP, Lafarge, Marine Harvest and INEOS, as well as 12 landfill dumps, nine food industry facilities and eight local authorities.
This is by far the highest number of sites ever fingered by Sepa, and it means that the agency has failed to meet its target to clean up industrial plants. Sepa points out that eight sites have flunked pollution assessments two years running and six have failed three years running (see below).
Companies and councils have frequently breached their legal permits, with equipment breakdowns, process failures, leaks, spills and nasty smells. Some have been served legal enforcement notices, and others taken to court.
Four of the offenders are in Grangemouth, three in Glasgow and three in Aberdeen. In Angus there is a trio of smelly and polluting meat factories and in Peterhead an offending oil waste plant and fish processor.
Perhaps the best known company named by Sepa is the oil multinational, BP, for failing to report and investigate incidents in line with its permits at the Sullom Voe oil terminal in Shetland. The company “cannot demonstrate a good knowledge of permit requirements,” says Sepa.
When asked to comment by the Sunday Herald, a BP spokeswoman said: “We have been in discussion with Sepa and will continue to have ongoing dialogue with them.”
The cement works near Dunbar in East Lothian run by the French company, Lafarge, failed for the second year running because of an “offensive odour outside the installation boundary”. This is particularly embarrassing for the company, which prides itself on its “conservation partnership” with the international environmental group WWF aimed at cutting pollution.
“We are disappointed,” said the environment manager for Lafarge Cement UK, Dave Shenton. But he pointed out that the plants unauthorised emissions had been cut to zero over the last nine months and was confident that the Dunbar works would pass Sepa’s assessment in 2009.
The Norwegian fish farming multinational, Marine Harvest, has also formed an environmental partnership with WWF in Norway. But its fish processing plant in Fort William suffered a “deterioration of performance” in 2008 due to “changes to the company management structure”, says Sepa.
Marine Harvest’s technical manager Dougie Hunter, was “disappointed” by the assessment which was partly due to “intermittent odour issues”. But he added: “We have invested significant resources in reporting systems and odour control and as a result the situation has greatly improved.”
The Grangemouth oil refinery run by INEOS, the world’s third largest chemical company, has failed Sepa’s pollution test three years running. In 2008 there were “significant incidents” when the plant was restarted after a strike involving “poor or inadequate procedures or poor control of process operations,” according to Sepa.
INEOS said the way the refinery had had to be restarted last year was unprecedented. “As a result of our investigations into these incidents our operating procedures have been amended to prevent a reoccurrence,” added a company spokesman.
Another site that has failed Sepa assessments for the last three years is the plant manufacturing carbon fibres run by the German company, SGL, at Muir of Ord in Ross-shire. “Two of the site’s stack emissions continue not to meet their permit emission limit values,” says Sepa.
SGL’s site director, Clemens Hauswirth, argued that environmental performance had improved significantly. “We have invested around £3 million within the last year in state of the art equipment,” he said.
Duncan McLaren, the chief executive of Friends of the Earth Scotland accused companies of ignoring their public image. “Warning letters and public shaming run like water off a duck's back,” he said.
“Sepa must be given the powers and the legal backing to get tough with these repeat offenders in the interests of Scotland's communities and our shared environment.”
Sepa’s annual “operator performance assessment” for 2008 covered 405 sites in Scotland. The percentage judged unsatisfactory - 9% - breaches Sepa’s target of 92% compliance, and is the highest for four years.
Publishing the assessments is “important not only for transparency, but also to encourage improvement”, according to Sepa. Offending sites “should now expect increased regulatory activity, including additional inspections or specific audits, in the coming year.”
Sepa’s director of environmental protection, Colin Bayes, pointed out that more sites were being regulated than ever before and standards were higher. “It appears to be the waste sector that is struggling most with compliance,” he said.
“Although Sepa is committed to helping operators to meet their environmental responsibilities, we will not shy away from taking appropriate enforcement action in relation to sites which consistently fail to meet our standards. We will continue to work hard with the Scottish justice system to promote tougher fines for those contravening their licence conditions.”
THE DIRTY THREE DOZEN
Failed SEPA pollution assessments three years running:
SGL carbon plant, Muir of Ord, Ross-shire for breaching emission limits
Barr’s Garlaff landfill, Skares, East Ayrshire for “odour problems leading to prosecution”
INEOS oil refinery, Grangemouth for “poor control of process operations”
Mcintosh Donald meat factory, Portlethen, Aberdeen for “repeated, substantiated complaints regarding offensive odour”
Vion Marshall chicken plant, Coupar, Angus for “continuing pollution incidents and often poor maintenance”
Sacone animal incinerator, Brechin, Angus, for bad smell and breaches of permit
Failed SEPA pollution assessments two years running:
Total Waste Management Alliance oil waste plant, Peterhead, for “odour issues”
Fresh Catch fish processing plant, Peterhead, for “unauthorised discharge to the harbour”
United Fish Products, East Tullos, Aberdeen for “offensive odour”
A P Jess abattoir, Brechin, Angus for “non-compliance with permit conditions”
Shanks Lingerton landfill, Lochgilphead, Argyll for “inadequate litter management”
Patersons Greenoakhill landfill, Broomhouse, Glasgow for “repeated non-compliance with permit conditions”
Glasgow City Council’s South Cathkin landfill, East Kilbride for “poor history of maintenance”
Lafarge cement works, Dunbar, East Lothian for “offensive odour”
Failed SEPA pollution assessments in 2008:
BP Sullom Voe terminal, Shetland
Dalkia combined heat and power plant, Grangemouth
Norit carbon plant, Glasgow
Piramel pharmaceutical plant, Grangemouth
North Lanarkshire Council Auchinlea landfill, Wishaw
Bodychell landfill, Fraserburgh
Bredisholm oil recycling refinery, Uddingston
Clearwater waste management, Glasgow
Aberdeenshire Council Crows Nest landfill, Banchory
Dundee Council waste incinerator, Baldovie, Dundee
Earlsgate Environmental Services, Grangemouth
Argyll and Bute Council Gott Bay landfill, Isle of Tiree
Aberdeen Council Hill of Tramaud landfill, Aberdeen
Scottish Borders Council landfill, Galashiels
North Ayrshire Council Shewalton landfill, Irvine
Smith Skip, Knowes Farm, Beith
Walsh Brothers transfer station, Alloa
West Carron landfill, Falkirk
Davidson Brothers animal feed, Shotts
Deans Foods poultry farm, Kirkcaldy
Georgetown Farm, Ballindalloch, Aberdeenshire
Marine Harvest fish processing plant, Fort William
Source: Scottish Environment Protection Agency
Earlier stories about operator performance assessments by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency are available here (2007), here (2006), here (2005), here (2004) and here (pre-2004).
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