hazardous chemical discharged into the Devon River; paint company fined

 By Steven Morris

January 15, 2023 15.23 GMT

                                          After a very poisonous, outlawed chemical leaked into a "pristine" river in south-west England from a holding tank, a big maritime paint manufacturer was fined £650,000.

A judge found that International Paint Ltd "utterly failed" to handle TBT that was kept at its abandoned facility on the banks of the Yealm in Devon.

One sample of the water near the factory exceeded 80,000 times the permissible level of TBT, according to a specialist who examined the water in the Yealm, a location of exceptional scientific importance known for its oysters and cockles.

Up until the 2000s, TBT was used in anti-fouling paints for ships to retard the growth of barnacles and algae. However, TBT is extremely toxic to invertebrate animals, so it has since been outlawed worldwide. It is especially corrosive to mollusks.

International Paint was penalised with a £650,000 fine and told to pay $145,000 in expenses. The business has agreed to pay for the cleanup work, which will probably cost at least £500,000.

Recorder Simon Levene sentenced the firm, which is controlled by the multinational AkzoNobel, noting that it had stopped using TBT in 2002 and had long since been required to empty the tank. He deemed it "strange" since the discharge took place following the site's listing for sale.

Though I don't think anybody ordered that the TBT be removed from the tanks, the court said: "It is odd that the TBT was only discharged after a possible buyer came along for whom the existence of TBT in the tanks was a severe concern."

He said, "I am absolutely sure that the defendant maintained a reckless system in which it entirely failed to regulate the management of TBT and other substances, having turned its eyes to the situation for years. I am satisfied that the TBT was dumped into the estuary by [a caretaker], and that should never have happened.

The judge expressed alarm over the "astronomic" mercury levels discovered in the river while presiding over Plymouth Crown Court. The Food Standards Agency will look into whether shellfish had a role in the possibility that this entered the human food chain.

Despite contesting two counts related to the release of hazardous waste from a tank on the quay at its paint testing plant in Newton Ferrers, International Paint Ltd was found guilty by a jury.

The Environment Agency opened an inquiry, the court was told, when the business attempted to sell the property and reports of potential contamination surfaced.

Since 1928, International Paint Ltd. has had a testing site on the Yealm at Newton Creek close to Newton Ferrers. Early in the 2000s, the business ceased utilising TBT, and the website was shut down in 2013. But because the TBT and other chemicals were not removed, the caretaker emptied the contents into the river in 2016. Before the event, the judge claimed, the river was in "pristine environment."

Dr. Michael Waldock, a specialist whose study resulted in the ban on TBT, discovered that nine out of 11 samples had TBT levels over the acceptable limit and that one sample near the location had 80,000 times the permitted amount. He came to the conclusion that the TBT levels were high enough to have a significant harmful impact on the local marine life.

Data gathered in December 2022 showed there had been "little or no change in the amounts of TBT near to the International Paint facility," according to a study that was handed to the court. For many more years, the reservoir of TBT debris will keep releasing TBT into the sediment because of its high persistence. It did note, however, that the estuary did not appear to have been significantly affected by the pollutants.

According to International Paint Limited, it fully accepted responsibility for the situation. Ralph Slikkerveer, a spokesman, said: "We take our environmental responsibilities extremely seriously. The business has been in existence for more than 120 years and has never been cautioned or found guilty for environmental violations.

"We are looking at methods to address pollution and have been collaborating closely with the Marine Management Organization."