Sawdust shed problem identified
Angry residents in Cowie have accused Norbord of putting profit before health and safety after the village was again left coated in dust from the plant.
Villagers say emissions from the chipboard manufacturers in Station Road covered cars, windows, garden furniture and even pets.
Officers from the Scottish Environment Protection Agency conducted an investigation following the complaints of further pollution on Sunday.
They identified the cause of latest incident as the failure in dust suppression measures at Norbord’s sawdust shed.
A spokesperson for SEPA said they would now be “discussing preventative maintenance issues” with the operator, and carrying out further site inspections to prevent a recurrence.”
SEPA inspectors and Norbord both carried out inspections following complaints in recent weeks of the the fine, dark, ash–like substance covering parts of the village.
However, the incident on Sunday heightened concern about the problem and on Monday a small group of villagers gathered outside the factory to voice their anger.
Scotstoun Road resident, Andrew Kettrick said: ”Everybody is up in arms about it.
“I grow vegetables outside and they are getting covered and I have a son with asthma. What about peoples health? There’s an issue here of public health and safety. We don’t want to be breathing this in.”
Eileen Martin, of Easterton Drive, added: “I spend a lot of time out in my garden and you can actually see it gets misty and hazy because of the dust.
“I worry about the amount of time I spend out in the garden, breathing it all in.
“It actually gets inside of the house too. I am never done wiping it off of my window sills.”
Norbord are now offering affected residents the chance to have their car and windows cleaned following the most recent incident.
A spokesman said: “We take our environmental responsibilities and our relationship with the local community very seriously and apologise for any inconvenience caused. We are continuing to liaise with our regulator, SEPA, and would encourage anyone affected to continue to get in touch with us directly. We have organised car and window cleaning for anyone affected.”
However, Bannockburn councillor, Alasdair MacPherson, is now calling for action to be taken to tackle the problem. He said: “The latest incidents highlights once again that the time for talking has stopped – the local community now want action. I sincerely hope that SEPA and Stirling Council’s environmental health officers come up with an urgent solution as this cannot continue.”
Stirling MSP, Bruce Crawford said that the latest incident of dust pollution comes after assurances from SEPA that it was satisfied Norbord had taken action.
Mr Crawford said: “When this issue first arose, I contacted SEPA immediately for assurances that the incident had been properly investigated and that the concerns over public health were being addressed. I received a reply at the end of last week that suggested that SEPA was satisfied that Norbord had taken action to stop any further incidents.
“Sadly that has not proved to be the case, and I now question whether the action that has been taken by SEPA has been robust enough.
“People in Cowie are seriously concerned about dust landing in the community and want key questions answered about what this means for public health. Action must be taken as a matter of priority to get to the bottom of what is consistently causing this pollution and this dust should be fully analysed by public health specialists in order to understand what risks, if any, it carries.”
SEPA is urging residents with concerns over the site to report them to its 24 hour Pollution Hotline, 0800 807060. At Cowie Community Council meeting on Monday, residents will have the opportunity to direct questions to SEPA and a representative from Norbord.
The Cowie plant was the UK’s first manufacturing facility for MDF. The site currently produces MDF and particleboard.