Photo of Canal Near Houses
International Paint, a multinational maritime paint manufacturer, was fined $795,000 when a hazardous prohibited chemical leaked from its holding tank and into a "pristine" river in southwest England.
In a report by The Guardian, a court ruled that the company "utterly failed" to oversee the storage of TBT at its shuttered factory on the banks of the Yealm in Devon, England.
Court Decision
In the River Yealm, a place of scientific significance known for its oysters and cockles, a water sample taken near the factory tested at 80,000 times the acceptable amount of TBT.
Because of its toxicity to invertebrates, TBT was prohibited worldwide in the 2000s from being used in anti-fouling paints for ships. These paints were meant to prevent the formation of barnacles and algae. In particular, mollusks are quite susceptible to its effects.
The court ordered International Paint to pay a fine of £650,000 ($795,000) and costs of £145,000 ($177,000). The firm has committed to footing the bill for the cleanup measures, estimated to cost at least £500,000 ($612,000).
Simon Levene, the recorder who handed down the sentence, said that the firm, which the multinational AkzoNobel controls, should have cleaned up the tank long ago since it had ceased using TBT in 2002. The fact that the leak occurred after the location was advertised for sale was deemed suspicious.
Concerns about astronomic quantities of mercury were also highlighted by the judge presiding over the case at Plymouth crown court. If the Food Standards Agency finds evidence that this may have entered the human food chain via shellfish, they will take appropriate action.
The paint testing facility in Newton Ferrers, where International Paint had been accused of releasing hazardous waste from a tank on the quay, was found guilty by a jury.
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What Happened
After the corporation sought to sell the property and reports of suspected contamination were made, the Environment Agency opened an inquiry, as shown by the court proceedings.
Since 1928, International Paint has maintained a testing site on the Yealm at Newton Creek, not far from Newton Ferrers. The site was shut down in 2013 after the company had discontinued utilizing TBT in the early 2000s.
However, TBT and other chemicals were not removed. Thus in 2016, the caretaker dumped the contents into the river. As the court put it, the river had a "pristine" ecosystem prior to the occurrence.
Near the site, one sample had 80,000 times the allowed level for TBT.
Accountability
Dr. Michael Waldock, an expert whose study led to the ban on TBT, determined that 9 out of 11 samples are far above the safe limit for TBT. According to his analysis, the concentrations of TBT were high enough to have had a devastating impact on the local marine ecosystem.
The company stated it was entirely responsible for what happened.
"We take our environmental obligations very seriously. The company has been in operation for over 120 years and has no prior environmental convictions or cautions. We have been working closely with the Marine Management Organisation and are investigating steps to remedy [the] contamination."
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