Arthur Morgan, the director of B&K; Metals in Ramsbottom, near Bolton, admitted receiving payment from clients for the disposal of unwanted paints and solvent, which he then stockpiled in a Birkenhead warehouse.
” We found hundreds of drums of hazardous chemicals, some of which were leaking on the ground.“
– David Owen, Environment Agency
The Agency was alerted to the company's Birkenhead site in May 2002 by the Merseyside Fire Service, which found about 800 chemical drums and up to 6,000 smaller containers stored there.
Special enforcement officer for the Agency, David Owen, said: “We found hundreds of drums of hazardous chemicals, some of which were leaking on the ground, being stored at an unlicensed site in a totally inappropriate way. Many of them were flammable and capable of causing skin burns.”
Action
The Agency and the fire service had to take immediate action to stop leaking paint products from getting into the drainage system. The site was guarded overnight by the Police while the Agency made arrangements for contractor Shanks to take the waste away the next day.
Investigations revealed that B&K; Metals had misled clients into assuming that their unwanted paint products would be taken to a licensed site run by another waste operator. The company did not have the licences it needed to carry out this kind of work, the Agency said.
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Mr Owen said: “This kind of waste must be taken to licensed sites, regulated by the Agency and with safeguards in place to protect the environment and human health.”
B&K; Metals Ltd was fined 12,000 by Wirral magistrates and ordered to pay 14,000 in compensation to the Agency and Shanks, as well as 8,000 costs. Mr Morgan was fined 10,000 and ordered to pay 5,484 compensation and 3,081 costs.
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