A CHEMICALS factory which has its headquarters in Cowick has been fined £24,000 after admitting three pollution offences following an ammonia leak.
On Tuesday, Croda Europe Limited pleaded guilty at Hull and Holderness Magistrates' Court to three breaches of its environmental permit, following the gas discharge from its Oak Road site in Hull on May 13 this year.
Craig Burman, for the Environm
ent Agency, told the court ammonia, which is used in the manufacturing process, was discharged under pressure through valves which an operator had forgotten to close after cleaning that day.
When ammonia was smelled by a security guard elsewhere on the site the alarm was raised and the emergency stop button was activated.
It was estimated that between 231 and 303kg of ammonia escaped into the atmosphere.
The magistrates were told there was no written procedure on how to steam clean the system or what to do after the cleaning process was completed.
The company accepted there was no prompt to remind staff to close valves at the end of the steam cleaning process.
The leak was reported to the Environment Agency by e-mail at 4.40pm on May 14, more than 16 hours later.
A lack of formal staff training, written operating procedures and checks to monitor the escape of ammonia all were aggravating features.
The bench fined the company a total of £24,000 on all three charges and ordered it to pay the Environment Agency's full costs of £6,271.55.
Croda's plant operates under an Environmental Permit issued by the Environment Agency.
The permit includes a condition that the company has to use "best available techniques" to prevent or reduce fugitive emissions into the air, from "pipes, valves and other transfer systems".
Other conditions include a requirement for staff to receive adequate training and written operating instructions, and for the company to notify the Environment Agency without delay of any fugitive emissions.
In mitigation, Croda had co-operated in interviews and acknowledged its wrongdoing, and put in place significant measures to prevent a similar occurrence in the future.
The magistrates gave the company credit for its early guilty plea and the steps it has taken to improve procedures.
The leak was the first of its kind since the permit was granted in 2004 and resulted in no serious damage to the environment.
Speaking after the case, Environment Agency Regulatory Officer Claire Wiles said: "We are pleased with this result.
"The company failed to use best available techniques to prevent or reduce fugitive emissions of substances to air from pipes, valves and other transfer systems and also failed to provide adequate training and written operating instructions to enable operators to carry out their duties.
"These factors led to the release of a significant amount of ammonia to the local environment and the size of the fine reflects the seriousness with which the courts take these offences.
"The Environment Agency welcomes the measures Croda has put in place to prevent this from happening again."
The full article contains 506 words and appears in Goole Courier newspaper.
