4:07pm Thursday 11th May 2006
By Bolton Evening News Reporter
A CHEMICAL blending company has been fined £10,000 for polluting a tributary of the River Irwell and killing thousands of fish.
Lectros International Limited, of Chorley Old Road, Bolton, accepted it had no measures in place to prevent liquids entering the drainage system.
It led to fish being found in distress in the River Irwell.
And an Environment Agency officer found a number of dead fish in the river at Ewood Bridge in the Rossendale Valley.
He also saw hundreds of dead fish where the River Irwell meets the River Odgen at Irwell Bridge and dead worms in the river bed where the River Irwell meets Langwood Brook.
The firm was ordered to pay £4,354 costs to the Environment Agency, which brought the prosecution after receiving reports from the public that a substance could be seen on Langwood Brook and the River Irwell at Haslingden.
Pennine Magistrates' Court in Burnley was told the Environment Agency officer had traced the pollution to Knowsley Road Industrial Estate where Lectros International Limited operates under the trading name of Wykamol Group.
The company blends chemicals to make products for the building trade, including preservatives and damp proofing agents.
Insecticides and pesticides are also stored and used at the site.
A water sample showed the presence of propiconazole, a fungicide, and permethrin, an insecticide, both of which are toxic to fish and other aquatic life.
When interviewed, Anthony Street, managing director of Lectros, accepted that there were no measures in place to prevent liquids entering the drainage system and they were unaware of where the drains on site connected to, acknowledging this to be a weak point.
Environment Agency officer Anthony Evason said: "It is estimated that the pollution affected the river over a distance of four miles.
"As a result, thousands of minor species, such as minnows, sticklebacks and stoneloach, were killed as were 47 brown trout.
"There was also a significant impact on the invertebrate population."
Businesses can contact the Environment Agency on 08708 506506 for advice on their environmental responsibilities.
Members of the public can contact the Environment Agency on 0800 807060 to report environmental incidents.
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