A cement storage company was fined £14,000 at Peterhead Sheriff Court last week for failures which resulted in an explosion of cement powder affecting both residential and commercial properties up to two kilometres away from the site.

CEBO UK Limited, based at ASCO South Base Oil Marine Base in Peterhead, pled guilty to two failures to comply with their Pollution Prevention and Control (PPC) permit. The first failure related to a condition in the permit which stated that all emissions to air from shall be free from visible matter and fallout of particulate matter beyond the boundary wall. The second was a failure to adequately maintain and control a permitted installation. The matter was investigated by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) and reported to the Procurator Fiscal.

The incident occurred on 28 May 2008 and resulted in approximately five tonnes of cement powder being released into the atmosphere. This cement was deposited on roadways, adjacent buildings, vessels, vehicles and people in the vicinity of the site. During follow up investigations silo maintenance records were checked which revealed that tests on the silo were not up-to-date and it should not have been in use after February 2008. The hatch lid retaining brackets were badly corroded and were in a poor state of repair which had contributed to the operational failure of the silo.

SEPA's investigating officer, Martyn Howie, said: "This incident was both serious and avoidable, serious in that a large amount of cement powder was forcibly ejected into the atmosphere causing widespread pollution and avoidable through the correct and timeous maintenance of the silo by CEBO UK Limited.

"It should be remembered that although in common use, cement is an aggressive powder which can cause harm to both the environment and human health and damage to property. The scale of this incident cannot be understated. Not only were a number of people working on and around the South Base exposed to cement dust, but a significant number of complaints were received from local residents and businesses regarding cement deposits on property, gardens and vehicles indicating wider exposure to the dust.

"This incident should serve as a reminder to operators of SEPA licensed sites that regular maintenance is vital and that the operation of sites to best available techniques is a requirement not an option."

Posted on Environment Times online on 26th January 2010.