Rob Edwards

Revealed: Scotland’s dirty three dozen

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.

Thousands at risk of pollution from Forth bridge

from Sunday Herald, 22 February 2009

The government is facing a formal complaint to the United Nations about the thousands of people whose health could be endangered by pollution from the newly designed road bridge planned across the Firth of Forth.

Scottish ministers have re-routed the southern approach to the bridge to save money. But this has brought the dual carriageway much closer to local communities, threatening over 8,000 residents with increased risks of asthma, cancer and other diseases from exhaust fumes.

Now residents are preparing an appeal to the UN under the Aarhus Convention, which governs access to justice on environmental issues. The government agency, Transport Scotland, insists that it has not breached the convention.

Recent research from the Harvard School of Public Health in the US suggests that pollution from traffic can damage the health of people up to half a kilometre away. Toxic particles and gases can attack lungs, aggravate asthma in children and have been linked to higher rates of cancers.

Scottish power station ‘the dirtiest in Europe’

from Sunday Herald, 15 February 2009

One of Scotland’s coal-fired power stations has been labelled as the dirtiest in Europe, belching pollution that damages public health and spreads acid rain.

An expert report for the European Commission outs Cockenzie in East Lothian as by far the worst emitter of nitrogen oxides (NOX). Longannet power station, along the Firth of Forth in Fife, is also named as one of the biggest NOX polluters.

Industrial plants across the UK are responsible for much greater amounts of NOX pollution than any other country in Europe, emitting 100,000 tonnes a year more than their nearest rivals in Spain, Germany and Poland.

NOX causes breathing problems, aggravates heart conditions and stunts the growth of crops. The Institute of Occupational Medicine has estimated that air pollution from traffic and industry kills more than 600 people a year in Scotland’s central belt.

The new report was prepared by Entec consultants for the European Commission to assess emissions of NOX, sulphur dioxide and dust from large industrial plants in 27 European countries between 2004 and 2006.

The ‘scandal’ of the climate-wrecking gases in old buildings

from Sunday Herald, 08 February 2009

Pollution from the demolition of old buildings could blow a gaping hole in government attempts to tackle global warming, experts have warned.

Ministers have been accused of “a scandal and a cover-up” for failing to devise a strategy for dealing with the huge amount of hazardous chemicals contained in old insulation foam.

If the chemicals escape into the environment when buildings are knocked down they act as powerful greenhouse gases to disrupt the climate. They will also eat away at the ozone layer that protects the earth from the sun’s harmful ultraviolet radiation.

More radioactive pollution at Dalgety Bay

from Sunday Herald, 28 September 2008

Clean coal makes its debut in Germany

from MIT Technology Review, 19 September 2008

It used to be called stinky town, because the pollution from burning dirty coal was so appalling. But now, if a new pilot plant works, Spremberg, in eastern Germany, could become the birthplace of a clean-coal revolution.

Earlier this month, the world's first coal-fired power plant designed to capture and store carbon dioxide that it produces began operations in Spremberg. The pilot plant has been built at a power station that, under Communist rule last century, used to belch out clouds of sulphurous smoke from burning brown coal, or lignite. 

Bog burst at coal mine prompts police report

from Sunday Herald, 07 September 2008

A major opencast coal mining company has been reported to the police for allegedly breaching planning conditions and damaging an internationally important peat bog in Ayrshire.

ATH Resources has been accused of failing to prevent a “bog burst” during an expansion of its Grievehill mine near New Cumnock. An area of peatland, under legal protection because of the wildlife it supports, collapsed into the mine.

The incident has alarmed environmental and community groups, who blamed the government’s conservation agency, Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH), for allowing the mine to be expanded. SNH said it was “very disappointed” at the company’s behaviour.

Revealed: Scotland's 25 worst pollution performers

from Sunday Herald, 20 July 2008

A record number of industrial sites across Scotland have been named and shamed by the government’s green watchdog for failing to curb pollution risks.

The Scottish Environmental Protection Agency (Sepa) has fingered 25 sites for their poor performances in 2007. They comprise 11 waste facilities, eight animal businesses, and six energy or manufacturing plants, including well-known companies like Shanks, Ineos, Scottish Power and Lafarge.

Many of the sites have broken environmental rules, leaked hazardous pollution or spread nasty smells. Some have been taken to court or hit with legal enforcement action, while others have been guilty of management failures.

M74 will undermine air pollution targets, ministers told

from Sunday Herald, 06 July 2008

The government’s plan to extend the M74 into Glasgow will undermine targets to cut air pollution and combat climate chaos, according to secret advice given to ministers.

A memo from officials to the former environment minister, Ross Finnie, in 2005 warned that building the five-mile, six-lane motorway would breach Glasgow’s air quality objective and significantly hamper plans to cut carbon emissions from transport.

But the M74 extension was still given the go-ahead by the previous Labour and Liberal Democrat coalition, and has been backed by the current Scottish Nationalist government. The groundbreaking ceremony to launch construction work in May was headed by the First Minister, Alex Salmond.

Glasgow bids to go greener

from Sunday Herald, 29 June 2008

The Dear Green Place wants to get greener. Glasgow City Council has launched a bid to become one of Europe’s most environmentally-friendly cities.

The council’s leaders are trying to shake off the city’s image as one of the most polluted, most wasteful and most road-obsessed in Scotland by agreeing a series of initiatives aimed at making it more sustainable.

The council has set up a high-level consortium led by Strathclyde University to examine every aspect of life in the city. The objective is “to position Glasgow as one of Europe’s most sustainable cities within five to ten years”.

Radioactive contamination of homes in breach of safety limits

from Sunday Herald, 13 April 2008

Homes in Dalgety Bay in Fife have been contaminated by military radioactive waste in breach of safety limits, putting the health of residents at risk.

A new survey for the Ministry of Defence (MoD), seen by the Sunday Herald, reveals that the gardens of up to nine houses at the coastal resort could be polluted with high levels of radium-226 from old war planes.

The MoD is now coming under growing pressure to dig out the contamination, for which it has in the past denied responsibility. It is also being asked by the Scottish government’s green watchdog to clean up the foreshore at Dalgety Bay, which is suspected of being even more polluted.

DU contamination in breach of safety limits

from Sunday Herald, 13 April 2008

Radioactive pollution of a Scottish military firing range by depleted uranium (DU) has risen to the highest level for over ten years, according to a survey for the Ministry of Defence (MoD).

Soil on parts of the Kirkcudbright Training Area on the Solway coast is so contaminated that it breaches agreed safety limits. And the contamination is spreading, as DU fragments from shells misfired in the past start to corrode.

The contamination, revealed in a declassified scientific report passed to the Sunday Herald, was described as “very worrying” by the Scottish environment minister, Michael Russell, yesterday.

Trouble ahead on breaches of European laws

from Sunday Herald, 06 April 2008

Ministers are preparing to face censure over alleged breaches of European laws meant to protect whales and birds of prey and to prevent pollution, an internal report obtained by the Sunday Herald reveals.

The Scottish government is also anticipating “potential problems” with legal action from the European Commission (EC) over the controversial wind farm proposed for the Isle of Lewis, fisheries policy, environmental assessments and sewage leakages in Campbeltown.

An up-to-date database of all the active legal disputes between the Scottish government and the EC has been released under freedom of information legislation. Details of the so-called “infraction cases” were kept secret until the Scottish Information Commissioner, Kevin Dunion, ordered that to end last December.

Green watchdog 'muzzled' on polluting farmers

from Sunday Herald, 03 February 2008

Scotland’s green watchdog held back a planned attack on polluting farmers after consulting government spin doctors, according to internal documents obtained by the Sunday Herald.

The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) completely rewrote a draft news release, after circulating it to ministerial media officials. An accusation that farmers’ leaders were being “misleading” was left out in favour of bland comments about the “key role” of agriculture in protecting the environment.

The revelation has prompted accusations from environmentalists that SEPA was “muzzled” by ministers in order not to offend the powerful farming lobby, though that is denied by SEPA and the Scottish government.

Environment watchdog goes green - mostly

from Sunday Herald, 27 January 2008

Scotland’s environmental watchdog is succeeding in greening itself by cutting pollution, waste and air travel - but it still has a problem with the mountains of paper it uses.

The latest green audit of the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA), to be published tomorrow, shows that the organisation is on track to cut its carbon dioxide emissions by 20% of 1998-99 levels by 2010.

But it has failed to meet its target to reduce paper consumption per employee by five per cent of 2005-06 levels. Only a three per cent cut was actually made, though measures have now been introduced to try and improve on that.

Scotland accused of 65 breaches of European laws

from Sunday Herald, 16 December 2007

Scotland has been accused by the European Union (EU) of 65 violations of laws meant to prevent pollution, protect wildlife and control waste, according to a secret government database released to the Sunday Herald.

The number of alleged breaches of European legal directives over the past six years is twice as high as previously admitted, prompting accusations yesterday that Scotland's record was "shocking" and had been "covered up".

The range of environmental crimes investigated by the EU is very broad. They include breaking rules on overfishing, hazardous waste, water pollution, sewage, radiation protection, plant imports, pesticides, birds of prey and pigs.

Big rise in pollution threatens government climate target

from Sunday Herald, 21 October 2007

Pollution from Scotland's major coal and gas-fired power stations shot up last year, threatening to wreck the Scottish Government's plans to combat climate change.

New figures from the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) reveal massive increases in the amounts of carbon dioxide being belched out by the coal plants at Cockenzie and Longannet on the Firth of Forth, and the gas plant at Peterhead.

Between them the three power stations emitted 4.6 million tonnes more carbon dioxide in 2006 than they did in 2005, swamping significant cuts in emissions achieved by other industries. As a result there was an overall rise of 10 per cent in carbon pollution from Scottish industry.

Where have you been, my blue-eyed son?

from Sunday Herald, 12 August 2007

It was 38 years ago after he got lost in the Sahara desert that photographer Mark Edwards got the idea. The Tuareg nomad who rescued him produced a cassette machine and played a bootlegged version of Bob Dylan's prophetic song about global decay, "A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall".

In the decades since Edwards has roamed the world taking and collecting pictures to illustrate every image-laden line of the song. The result is an arresting display of 44 photographs now on show at the Royal Botanic Garden in Edinburgh, as part of the festival (see below).

Companies found out making fake green claims

from Sunday Herald, 05 August 2007

A string of big-name companies have been caught out trying to cash in on the green marketing boom by making fake claims in adverts.

Leading car makers, budget airlines, energy companies and the country's biggest supermarket chain have all been found guilty of breaking advertising rules by the independent watchdog, the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA).

Faced with rocketing numbers of complaints about adverts claiming environmental benefits, the ASA is promising to crack down on offenders. And the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) has admitted that there is "public confusion" over business attempts to cut the pollution that causes climate change.

Revealed: Scotland's seventeen serious polluters

from Sunday Herald, 13 May 2007

Seventeen major industrial sites across Scotland have been outed by the government's environment watchdog for failing to curb pollution risks.

The companies with the poorest performances in 2006, named by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (Sepa), include five meat processing factories, three chemical plants, two landfill sites, a hospital incinerator, a timber mill and a new biodiesel plant.