Chemical company fined for pollution

Sub Micron Industries Limited, of Radcliffe Road, Huddersfield, was fined 4,500 at Huddersfield Magistrates' Court.

The company, which manufactures agricultural insecticides and pesticides, pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing to one pollution offence.

The company was also ordered to pay prosecution costs of 3,580.83 and a victim surcharge of 15.

Craig Burman, prosecuting for the Environment Agency, said officers were called out on March 20 last year to reports of dead fish in the River Colne, at Slaithwaite.

They saw several dead fish at Aspley Basin and up to 100 more further upstream.

On March 23 officers were called to the River Colne at Slaithwaite after reports of discoloured water and dead fish. They saw a milky white discharge entering the river from a surface water drain and took samples.

Results of tests led them to check Sub Micron's premises, where they discovered that a washing machine, used to clean workers' overalls, was discharging into the surface water drain which had polluted the river.

Staff did not realise that the polluted water was being discharged into the river.

The court heard on Tuesday the samples taken contained pesticides and chemicals.

The bench gave Sub Micron maximum credit for an early guilty plea and acknowledged it had no previous convictions for environmental offences.

The court heard that Sub Micron had fully co-operated with the Environment Agency during its investigation and had immediately made arrangements to take away contaminated laundry.

Sub Micron managing director Joseph Forrest told the court that it was a surprise to him that the surface water drains for the industrial estate where the company was based were linked to the river and the company had since moved premises.