Concern as ‘white dust’ falls on village
RESIDENTS of a village near Runcorn woke up to find their homes, cars and streets covered in a strange ‘white powder’.
Residents in Preston Brook on Northwich Road woke up to find the street and cars covered in a white powder on Monday, October 11.
The powder, which reportedly came from a nearby manufacturing plant, mainly affected Northwich Road and an estate nearby.
The area is close to the Saint Gobain Isover manufacturing plant on Rivington Road, which produces mineral wool insulation.
There is particular concern in the area about pets and wildlife ingesting this substance, as well as fears that the powder contains glass.
Dave Espley, of Preston Brook, woke up on that Monday morning to find his car and the street he lives on covered in the substance.
The 49-year-old said: “It looked like it had snowed.
“The issue is what it has discharged and whether it’s safe for wildlife and pets, it’s also very abrasive so it’s causing all sorts of issues with people’s cars as well.
“Literally everything was covered in it and the main concern was wondering what it is. There’s a lot of questions and we are just trying to get to the bottom of it.
“We’ve been told it is 70% glass so apparently it will not dissolve as soon as it rains. I’m not quite sure how they are going to fully rectify it because it’s all over the fields as well. I know people have vegetable patches and they have been advised to chuck it all away.
“You can still see it all over the road outside the plant (Isover) itself, it looks like frost.
“The Environment Agency has been round and so has the Isover plant manager and apologised and I think he was having a worse day than anyone else. The main concern here is what is in it and if it is potentially toxic.
“We’ve been told it’s not harmful and not to eat it, but obviously we are concerned about pets and wildlife.”
Dave also said that due to the ‘abrasive’ substance, it has damaged a number of cars on the street and valets have been arranged to help remove the powder from people’s cars.
“They’re trying to [clean] and they’ve booked appointments with car cleaners to come round and clean all the cars, I had to use the hose to get it off of my car,” he said.
“It was absolutely covered, thankfully we didn’t rub it, but I know other people who have taken their car to a car wash and this stuff has caused real damage.
“I am assuming this is what they use to clean out the chimney as it is real abrasive stuff.
“A neighbour of mine has said their windscreen is covered in scratches because he took it to a car wash. They have been around valeting people’s cars and doing as big clean up as they can.”
A spokesperson for Isover said that the dust is ‘nothing to worry about’ and apologised to residents over the situation.
The statement read: “There was a small release of dust from the vent ducting when we restarted the plant after a short planned shutdown. “Our Plant Manager has been visiting local residents over the last few days to explain the situation, apologise and to reassure residents that there is nothing to worry about at all. “Where needed we have also arranged for professional cleaning to take place and we have been in dialogue with the Environment Agency who are fully aware of the release. We take great care to be a responsible business and take issues like this very seriously indeed.”
A spokesperson for the Environment Agency said: “We are working with the company to offer advice and guidance under our regulatory role.
“Members of the public can continue to report this issue to our instant hotline, which is 24-hours on 0800 80 70 60.”