The Environment agency has served a suspension notice on Red Industries of Burslem, Stoke-On-Trent in the wake of last week's River Trent cyanide and sewage contamination. This means that the hazardous waste management and disposal company can no longer discharge any industrial effluent after cyanide was found at the sewer access point that it used. The company had already voluntarily ceased all discharge of effluent and in a statement released last week, promised to co-operate fully with the EA as they conduct an investigation into the disaster that has claimed the lives of thousands of fish.
Whatever the reason behind this terrible occurrence, be it a careless mistake or something more sinister, the EA must find grounds for, and press ahead with a prosecution under the Water Resources Act and impose a fine of the size that will send a clear message and act as a deterrent to other companies.
To give Red Industries the benefit of the doubt and assume it was a mistake, it is still one that is entirely unforgivable for a company whose sole purpose ironically is to dispose properly of the sort of waste that ended up in the Trent. Any company dealing with potentially lethal chemicals has a duty to ensure that things like this don't happen and before the EA reinstates Red's licence, it should be made to prove that measures have been taken to prevent anything similar from ever happening again.
In it's 'Vision and Mission Statement' Red Industries states that:
“The company’s continuing success benefits customers, environment, business partners, families and the communities in which they operate all around the UK.”
In the case of the Trent and the surrounding area, nothing could be further from the truth and this sickening environmental catastrophe has had a hugely negative impact for which Red Industries must be made to pay.
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