QUARRY STINK BELOW LEVELS OF ‘ANNOYANCE’ FOR A WEEK
But campaigners question claims made by the Environment Agency
ODOURS around Walleys Quarry have stayed below ‘annoyance’ levels for a whole week for the first time since monitoring started - according to the latest data.
The Environment Agency has had four air quality monitoring stations in place near the controversial Silverdale landfill site since the spring, to measure levels of hydrogen sulphide
(H2S) and other gases.
Levels of H2S have regularly exceeded the annoyance threshold set by the World Health Organisation – defined as the level at which complaints can be expected – especially at the monitoring site in Galingale View.
But in the week ending October 31, no annoyance breaches were recorded in Galingale View, Silverdale Cemetery, Silverdale Road or Newcastle Fire Station for the first time since monitoring started.
The EA received 105 odour complaints from members of the public, down from 181 in the previous week and 305 in the week before that.
But the regulator says that there may be short-term increases in H2S levels in the coming weeks.
In its weekly update, the EA states: “Although the hydrogen sulphide levels did not rise above the WHO hydrogen sulphide odour annoyance guideline level this week, we continue to press the operator to take all steps to reduce the hydrogen sulphide and other odours leaving the site wherever possible.
“We do expect to see some short term increases and decreases in the levels of hydrogen sulphide at times, and this is due to a number of reasons such as improvement works on site, changes in the weather and as the seasons change.
“In particular as we approach autumn, air temperatures start to drop so fugitive landfill gas emissions will rise in the atmosphere less readily.
“With less dispersion, the potential for causing odour nuisance from hydrogen sulphide is greater than in the summer, when the gas is naturally more diluted due to the higher temperatures and rising air.
“This means the benefits of some of the improvements that have been carried out at Walleys landfill, with regards to a reduction in offsite odour nuisance, could be less noticeable in these conditions.
“However, it is important to note that overall, despite short term spikes, the trend in the levels of hydrogen sulphide in the ambient air continues to reduce.”
Following the High Court ruling in the case of poorly five-yearold Mathew Richards, the EA is required to keep levels of H2S in the areas around Walleys Quarry to 1ppb by January.
While some residents say there has been an improvement in recent weeks, others have treated the EA’S claims with scorn.
The Stop the Stink campaign tweeted: “Doors and windows are all taped up again tonight. Environment Agency, is this supposed to be getting better?”
Meanwhile, legal teams from Newcastle Borough Council and Walleys Quarry Ltd have appeared in court, following the landfill operator’s decision to appeal against the council’s statutory nuisance abatement notice.
The case is listed for a fourweek trial at North Staffordshire Justice Centre, starting on June 6 next year, although the judge has recommended the parties start mediation.
Council leader Simon Tagg, left, said: “Today marks the first step in the trial, and it has been encouraging to have the path of the case laid out for us by the judge.
“This legal process is not something that we have entered into lightly, and it should be remembered that we are taking this action on behalf of all of our communities, who have suffered unnecessarily for so long.”