Dust leak costs CEMEX over £400,000

CEMEX UK have been fined £400,000 and ordered to pay costs of £12,429 after a serious dust emission from their cement plant at Rugby.

The sentence was passed by Warwick Crown Court on 3 October 2006 following an earlier hearing at Rugby Magistrates Court, when the company pleaded guilty to the offence under the Pollution Prevention and Control (PPC) Regulations 2000.

The offence related to an incident on 14 October 2005 when CEMEX breached their PPC Permit by failing to ensure an external door on a reject clinker silo was maintained in good operating condition. This had resulted in a high level of cement clinker dust escaping to the atmosphere.

As a result, the Environment Agency received 10 separate complaints from members of the public about dust covering cars and properties up to three miles from the plant.

Speaking after the court case, Ian Withers of the Environment Agency said: ‘We will not tolerate poor plant maintenance that might lead to incidents such as this, especially in an urban environment so close to people’s homes. The PPC Permit exists to prevent and control pollution. As we have seen today, the strict conditions it contains are enforced by criminal sanctions, which control and limit the plant’s activities.

‘We did not hesitate to take action against CEMEX for this breach. I hope that the severity of the fine will ensure that the company will be more careful about its maintenance in future and ensure such an incident cannot happen again.’

In mitigation, Lucy Allen, speaking on behalf of CEMEX, said the incident was short-lived and there was no evidence of any adverse impact on the health of residents. She added that CEMEX had pleaded guilty at the first opportunity and had also apologized to the local community.