Toxic chemicals released into ship canal
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4 THE BIG ISSUE IN THE NORTH · 28 NOV - 4 DEC 2011 NEWS Toxic chemicals released into shi Toxic chemicals are among more than 70 million gallons of treated liquid waste being discharged into the Manchester Ship Canal every day, an investigation by The Big Issue in the North has found. In 2005-10, more than one tonne of cyanide, 38 tonnes of ammonia and eight tonnes of nonylphenol ethoxylates (a chemical considered highly toxic to aquatic life) were pumped into the waterway from a waste processing plant at Davyhulme in Greater Manchester, along with smaller quantities of arsenic, lead and mercury. Legal case Each of these substances is toxic or hazardous, and their release into the canal permitted by the government’s Environment Agency. The Big Issue in the North has also learned that there is an ongoing legal case concerning a pollutant that has been found in the canal at Davyhulme. The case involves undisclosed individuals, some of whom are than 1,175 tonnes of hazardous waste, with an average 73.3 million gallons of total treated effluent discharged daily into the canal, according to figures provided by the Environment Agency. EU standards A government-commissioned report shows the canal failed a chemicals test in 2009 as it did not meet EU standards that aim to reduce pollution. Kate Green, Labour MP for Stretford and Urmston, said: bound by confidentiality agreements, and is expected to reach court in the near future. An ecological expert, an MP and environmental group Friends of the Earth (FotE) have expressed concern at the revelations. “Dumping toxic waste into the canal could place serious risks on the health of local people and wildlife,” said Helen Rimmer, North West campaigner for FotE. “Some of the chemicals discharged into the canal are hormone-disrupting. Instead of treating the canal as a dumping ground, industry must reduce production of toxic waste, and focus on waste prevention and greener technologies.” The 117-year-old waterway runs for around 36 miles through the North West, from the Mersey estuary near Liverpool to the River Irwell in Greater Manchester. Discharged waste enters the canal from a number of sites, including Salford, Dukinfield and Stockport. But the majority is emitted by water company United Utilities at its Davyhulme plant, one of the largest of its kind in Europe, processing sewage produced by up to three million people across Manchester as well as industrial waste. Between October 2010 and September 2011 it handled more Cyanide and lead are among the chemicals released into the Manchester Ship Canal. Photo: Peter Byrne/PA Wire SUBSTANCE USE Ammonia - A caustic, hazardous substance widely used in fertiliser and commercial cleaning products. It is considered toxic to fish and even in low concentrations may cause damage to internal and external organs. Arsenic - A natural element that behaves like a metal. It is toxic and often found in agricultural pesticides and in timber preservation chemicals. Cyanide - A poisonous naturally occurring substance sometimes used in metal cleaning operations and as an industrial bug killer. Lead - A naturally occurring substance often found in petrol and paint. Elevated levels in water can cause reproductive damage in some aquatic life and cause blood and neurological changes in fish and other animals. Mercury - A highly toxic element found both naturally and as an introduced contaminant in the environment. Mercury compounds can be damaging to the central nervous systems of humans and animals. It is often used for the manufacture of industrial chemicals or for electrical devices. Nonylphenol ethoxylates - Used in a wide variety of industrial applications and consumer products, including laundry detergents. Studies have shown them to be toxic to aquatic life, causing interference with animal hormones. “It’s clearly of concern that the Ship Canal is failing to achieve EU chemical standards. Local industry, the local council and the environmental agencies must take seriously the responsibility to stop toxic waste being dumped into the canal.” One water pollution expert, who spoke to The Big Issue in the North on condition of anonymity, described the canal’s condition as “very poor”. He said: “It’s not just sewage going in to somewhere like Davyhulme, it’s all kinds of chemical wastes that they can treat there as well. So, if you like, they’re taking society’s problems and trying to do the best they can. Negative impact “But the worst possible thing to do is have a canal and throw all your waste in there. It’s good in the sense that it’s not a natural river – but it just doesn’t have the self-cleaning capacity that a river would. “It can be a very long-term problem. We’ve got places where very little can live because of very old pollution.” Research conducted for United Utilities in 2007 by CORRECTION In our article on the North Liverpool Foodbank (issue 902) we failed to credit Jon Reynolds for the photograph used. Apologies. BITN 904_04,05 (News) 25/11/11 13:29 Page 4
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Toxic chemicals are among more than 70 million gallons of treated liquid waste being discharged into the Manchester Ship Canal every day, an investigation has found.
Transcript of Toxic chemicals released into ship canal
4 THE BIG ISSUE IN THE NORTH · 28 NOV - 4 DEC 2011
N E W S
Toxic chemicals released into shi
Toxic chemicals are amongmore than 70 million gallons oftreated liquid waste beingdischarged into the ManchesterShip Canal every day, aninvestigation by The Big Issuein the North has found.
In 2005-10, more than onetonne of cyanide, 38 tonnes ofammonia and eight tonnes ofnonylphenol ethoxylates (a chemical considered highlytoxic to aquatic life) werepumped into the waterway froma waste processing plant atDavyhulme in GreaterManchester, along with smallerquantities of arsenic, lead andmercury.
Legal caseEach of these substances is toxicor hazardous, and their releaseinto the canal permitted by thegovernment’s EnvironmentAgency.
The Big Issue in the North hasalso learned that there is anongoing legal case concerning apollutant that has been found inthe canal at Davyhulme. Thecase involves undisclosedindividuals, some of whom are
than 1,175 tonnes of hazardouswaste, with an average 73.3 million gallons of totaltreated effluent discharged dailyinto the canal, according tofigures provided by theEnvironment Agency.
EU standardsA government-commissionedreport shows the canal failed achemicals test in 2009 as it didnot meet EU standards that aimto reduce pollution.
Kate Green, Labour MP forStretford and Urmston, said:
bound by confidentialityagreements, and is expected toreach court in the near future.
An ecological expert, an MPand environmental groupFriends of the Earth (FotE) haveexpressed concern at therevelations.
“Dumping toxic waste intothe canal could place seriousrisks on the health of localpeople and wildlife,” said HelenRimmer, North West campaignerfor FotE. “Some of thechemicals discharged into thecanal are hormone-disrupting.Instead of treating the canal as adumping ground, industry mustreduce production of toxicwaste, and focus on wasteprevention and greenertechnologies.”
The 117-year-old waterwayruns for around 36 milesthrough the North West, fromthe Mersey estuary nearLiverpool to the River Irwell inGreater Manchester.
Discharged waste enters thecanal from a number of sites,including Salford, Dukinfieldand Stockport. But the majorityis emitted by water companyUnited Utilities at itsDavyhulme plant, one of thelargest of its kind in Europe,processing sewage produced byup to three million peopleacross Manchester as well asindustrial waste.
Between October 2010 andSeptember 2011 it handled more
Cyanide and lead are among the chemicals released into the Manchester Ship Canal. Photo: Peter Byrne/PA Wire
SUBSTANCE USEAmmonia - A caustic, hazardoussubstance widely used in fertiliserand commercial cleaning products.It is considered toxic to fish andeven in low concentrations maycause damage to internal andexternal organs.
Arsenic - A natural element thatbehaves like a metal. It is toxic andoften found in agricultural pesticidesand in timber preservationchemicals.
Cyanide - A poisonous naturallyoccurring substance sometimesused in metal cleaning operationsand as an industrial bug killer.
Lead - A naturally occurringsubstance often found in petrol andpaint. Elevated levels in water can
cause reproductive damage in someaquatic life and cause blood andneurological changes in fish andother animals.
Mercury - A highly toxic elementfound both naturally and as anintroduced contaminant in theenvironment. Mercury compoundscan be damaging to the centralnervous systems of humans andanimals. It is often used for themanufacture of industrial chemicalsor for electrical devices.
Nonylphenol ethoxylates - Used ina wide variety of industrialapplications and consumer products,including laundry detergents.Studies have shown them to betoxic to aquatic life, causinginterference with animal hormones.
“It’s clearly of concern that theShip Canal is failing to achieveEU chemical standards. Localindustry, the local council andthe environmental agenciesmust take seriously theresponsibility to stop toxicwaste being dumped into thecanal.”
One water pollution expert,who spoke to The Big Issue inthe North on condition ofanonymity, described the canal’scondition as “very poor”.
He said: “It’s not just sewagegoing in to somewhere likeDavyhulme, it’s all kinds ofchemical wastes that they cantreat there as well. So, if youlike, they’re taking society’sproblems and trying to do thebest they can.
Negative impact“But the worst possible thing todo is have a canal and throw allyour waste in there. It’s good inthe sense that it’s not a naturalriver – but it just doesn’t havethe self-cleaning capacity that ariver would.
“It can be a very long-termproblem. We’ve got placeswhere very little can livebecause of very old pollution.”
Research conducted forUnited Utilities in 2007 by
CORRECTION
In our article on the NorthLiverpool Foodbank (issue 902)we failed to credit Jon Reynoldsfor the photograph used.Apologies.
BITN 904_04,05 (News) 25/11/11 13:29 Page 4
528 NOV - 4 DEC 2011 · THE BIG ISSUE IN THE NORTH
N E W S
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CHARITY WALK AXEDThe annual Saddleworth Beer Walkhas been scrapped after trouble atthis year’s event. Plans for a 39thannual walk were binned after itwas deemed too costly to police.Alcohol-related trouble resulted inJune when an estimated 4,000people unofficially joined the walk.Saddleworth Round Table decidedagainst repeating the eventbecause of the £58,000 policing bill.
LIVERPOOL SANTA DASHLiverpool will host the UK’sbiggest festive fun run on 4December when it’s expectedover 7,500 santas will turn out inthe city centre to transform the5km course into a moving sea ofred. The causes being supportedby this year’s run are the RadioCity Cash For Kids and theLiverpool Echo Liverpool Unitescharities. To apply visitwww.runliverpool.org.uk/
STREET HARASSMENTHollaback! West Yorkshire haslaunched a survey into streetharassment. Street harassment isthe term used to describe sexualharassment in public places that caninclude anything from staring andsexualised comments up to assaultand molestation. The survey, whichtakes place during the Leeds 16Days of Action, part of aninternational campaign to endviolence against women, can befound at www.wy.ihollaback.org/survey.
FRESH TO YOUR DESKWorkers in Manchester city centrewill have the chance to havefresh, affordable groceriesdelivered directly to their offices.On 5 December, FeedingManchester, a network of foodsuppliers, is putting on ademonstration showing howworkers can buy directly fromlocal farmers and wholesalers,giving them access to ethicalgroceries while supporting thelocal economy. See www.feedingmanchester.org.uk
The rescue of 30 threatenedcare homes in the north maysimply be storing up futureproblems, according to theGMB union.
When Southern Cross, theUK’s largest home care operator,went bust earlier this year therewere fears that thousands of its31,000 residents could findthemselves without a home. Butthe company transferred its 750-plus homes in the UK tomore than 30 existing operators.One of these is Four SeasonsHealth Care Group, which, bybeing registered in Jersey, doesnot post accounts.
Of a final wave of 139 homestransferred to subsidiarycompany Four SeasonsHealthcare on 31 October, 22 arein the North West and eight inYorkshire and Humber. Thetotal of homes under the care ofthe company is over 500.
Debt dueEight-eight per cent of FourSeasons homes are rated good orexcellent by the Care QualityCommission. Nevertheless thecompany has experiencedfinancial difficulties.
In 2009 its creditors agreed towrite off half of the group’s £1.6 billion debt. Previous
Tis the Seasons to be careful
hip canalNEWS IN BRIEF
owner the Qatari InvestmentAuthority walked away, havinglost its entire investment, andownership was transferred tocreditors including the RoyalBank of Scotland.
The maturity – repayment –of the remaining debt of £780 million is set forSeptember 2012. But unionofficials are concerned Four
Seasons may not be able to payit, especially as in 2010 thesubsidiary company posted a£12.1 million pre-tax loss.
Jon Smith, GMB organiser inYorkshire and North Derbyshire,said: “For nearly two years wewarned that Southern Cross’sbusiness model wasfundamentally flawed. We feelthe same model is beingadopted by Four Seasons andthat concerns us greatly.”
A quarter of the £31,800income Four Seasons earned per
occupied bed in 2010 was spenton rents and interest paymentsBut a Four Seasonsspokesperson insisted thecompany was fully able tomanage its debt.
‘Confident’“We are very confident we willbe able to refinance it before itbecomes due next year,” he said.“The company has recentlybeen valued at £950 million,much greater than our debt.Southern Cross was a privatesector problem that has beenresolved by the private sector,thus saving a massive burdenfalling on local authorities orthe public purse.
“We’ve taken on operatinghomes that were marked forclosure, will be investing inthem and working with 7,300transferred staff to improve thequality of care in homes.”
Blackley and Broughton MPGraham Stringer said: “I wasappalled by the financialarrangements of these carehomes. I think it brings intoquestion whether care homesproviding a public service forvulnerable people should everbe in the private sector.”
MARK METCALF
‘Should carehomes everbe in theprivatesector.’Stringer
aquatic scientists found that lowoxygen levels in the canal wereworsened by “a combination ofchemical, biological andphysical factors” that couldcause “extensive fishmortalities”. The negativeimpact of ammonia was citedrepeatedly. Last year alone 22tonnes of ammonia was releasedinto the water at Davyhulme,official figures show.
A spokeswoman for theEnvironment Agency said £18million of government funding
had been allocated to help morewaterways meet EU targets forpollution by 2015.
Ammonia levelsShe added: “The water qualityof rivers and lakes acrossEngland and Wales hasimproved significantly over thelast 20 years, but there is stillmore that needs to be done toimprove our waters evenfurther. The EnvironmentAgency is working with watercompanies such as UnitedUtilities in the North West tominimise pollution and improvewater quality.”
United Utilities said it hadspent “hundreds of millions ofpounds” upgrading its treatmentprocesses, with plans to spend a
further £120 million over thenext four years, including £50million to reduce ammonialevels.
“Our treatment works receivethe effluent from businesses,industries and some threemillion people across GreaterManchester. Our plants operatearound the clock treating hugevolumes of wastewater to thestandards set out by theEnvironment Agency before it isreleased into the ManchesterShip Canal,” said a UnitedUtilities spokesperson. “Theship canal has a long industriallegacy but steady progress toimprove water quality ishappening.”
RYAN GALLAGHER
BITN 904_04,05 (News) 25/11/11 13:29 Page 5
