Metal Company Fined £133,000 after Fire Pollutes Warwickshire River

Abbey Metals Limited was fined £133,000 recently, plus £33,000 in costs after a fire at the premises caused contaminated water to enter the River Anker, Warwickshire, killing over 26,000 fish.

The charge was brought by the Environment Agency after the company failed to take measures to prevent major accidents and limit their consequences to the environment.

On 22 April 2010, a large fire broke out at the premises. Fire crews attended and used a considerable amount of water to fight the fire. Despite the best efforts of the fire service, much of the water, contaminated with a cocktail of hazardous substances used in metal treatment, entered the river.

Environment Agency officers identified pollution in the water following the fire, which resulted in approximately 26,500 fish deaths along a 6km stretch of river. Immediately after the incident, large numbers of dead fish were visible floating down the river, and live fish were seen jumping out of the water onto the banks.

The incident occurred because the company had failed to take ‘all measures necessary’ to prevent major accidents and to limit their consequences.  The emergency plan failed as there were inadequate arrangements on site to contain the firewater, and no arrangement to access the sewage system for emergency storage or tanker contaminated water off site.

An Environment Agency spokesperson said: “Serious pollution can have devastating effects on people and the environment. Businesses can take simple steps to prevent pollution including storing oils and chemicals safely and securely. Where accidents are foreseeable, the operator must plan to prevent or mitigate them. This is what Abbey Metal failed to do.”

In mitigation, the court was told that the company had co-operated fully and had entered an early guilty plea.  They had since put measures in place to ensure that this situation could not re-occur.