Hazardous waste firm fined after fish kill

The liquid went in to a tributary of the River Thames in Slough, Berkshire, killing a large number of fish.

DS Holdings Ltd, trading as Envirogreen Special Waste Services – a waste carrier – and its director Neil Stewart – of Henley Road, Slough, Berkshire – both pleaded guilty to a total of five offences under the Water Resources Act 1991, Environmental Permitting (England & Wales) Regulations 2007,  and the Hazardous Waste (England and Wastes) Regulations 2005.

Consignment note

The offences included causing pollutants to enter the Chalvey Ditch near Cippenham, operating a regulated facility without an environmental permit, failing to keep a record of the hazardous waste transported and failing to complete a hazardous waste consignment note.

The company was fined £23,600 and ordered to pay £15,000 costs and £8,170 compensation to the Environment Agency with a £15 victim surcharge. Mr Stewart was fined £14,000 and ordered to pay a £15 victim surcharge.

The court heard that a tanker belonging to DS Holdings Ltd accidentally discharged approximately 4,500 litres of hazardous chemicals into the Chalvey Ditch in Cippenham in September 2009. The discharge caused near total fish mortality in the watercourse as far as its confluence with the River Thames. The fish killed included pike, an eel, perch, chub, dace, sticklebacks, roach, gudgeon, ruffe and bullheads. It also caused major damage to the macro invertebrate (river insects) population.

Environment Agency officers responded and attended the site where the pollution was initially reported by a member of the public. Officers found that the stream had turned blue-grey, was covered in foam and smelled of detergent. They also found a large quantity of dead fish and other affected wildlife downstream.

The officers followed the trail of pollution and eventually arrived at DS Holdings Ltd in Henley Road, where there was a smell in the air similar to that in the drains and streams. Numerous drums and containers of wastes were stored on site including waste oils, pesticides and drums marked as containing hazardous substances.

The Court was told that when questioned by the Environment Agency, the managing director of DS Holdings Ltd, Neil Stewart, admitted that a leak had occurred from one of the drums. He also said there had been a much larger spill from a road tanker being used to transport hazardous wastes, including cleaning products and liquid soaps, from a site in Wallingford, Oxfordshire, to another site for treatment and disposal.

The tanker was temporarily parked at the Slough site when the hazardous liquid accidentally leaked from a blocked valve. The tanker driver tried to dislodge the blockage, but the valve opened and 4,500 litres escaped before it could be closed. The driver cleaned up the resulting spill by washing it down a drain, which unfortunately leads to the Chalvey Ditch. 

DS Holdings, trading as Envirogreen, did not have an environmental permit to store hazardous waste brought to the Slough site as part of the company's waste carrier business.

“Awful impact”

Neil Martin, investigating officer for the Environment Agency, said: “I am satisfied that in passing sentence today the court has recognised the awful impact of this pollution in Slough. 

“The pollution had a devastating effect on the area. Thousands of  fish were killed in the Chalvey Ditch along with an unknown number of invertebrates along a four-kilometre stretch, and it may take years to recover.” 

The Environment Agency has carried out surveys to gauge the impacts of the pollution. A biological survey revealed that the release of detergents into the ditch had a major impact on both the fish and macro invertebrate population for two kilometres, with nearly 100% mortality of all groups.  Four kilometres downstream of where the pollution occurred, one third of the freshwater shrimp and about one quarter of the burrowing mayfly that inhabit the area had also died.

Mr Martin added: “My message to companies which transport, store or treat any sort of waste is simple – transport and store it safely and with the appropriate permits, ensuring that it cannot leak. We will not tolerate the pollution of our rivers and neither will the courts.

“We will continue working on our pollution prevention campaign in the Slough area, talking to local business about managing their waste properly and providing advice with the aim of stopping this sort of incident happening again.”

When contacted by letsrecycle.com Envirogreen were unavailable for comment.