A UK waste firm has been slapped with a hefty fine after a cyanide leak led to hundreds of fish dying.
J & G Environmental Ltd of Fareham, Hampshire, was told to pay £16,000 and ordered to pay costs of £52,500 during a hearing this week.
The company was penalised after an incident in 2018, during which a container was ruptured causing “hundreds of litres of a liquid, which contained diluted cyanide” to escape onto the floor before entering the local drainage system and waterways in the surrounding area.
According to the environment agency, the area was cordoned off and the fire service was called with a decontamination zone set up.
Environment Agency officers were also called and tried to stop the flow of water from nearby ponds, and they took samples from dead fish. The agency said that of the “73 sent for testing all were found to have died from cyanide poisoning.”
A spokesperson for the Environment Agency said: “We welcome this sentence as this was a serious pollution which caused considerable disruption besides fish deaths.
“The Environment Agency will pursue any company that fails to uphold the law or protect nature and will continue to press for the strongest possible penalties.
“Failure to comply with these legal requirements is a serious offence that can damage the environment and harm human health.
In the judgment, the judge noted the company had no previous convictions and pleaded guilty.
He also took into account efforts made by the company “to ensure no repetition..and to contribute to recycling and environmental welfare were also impressive.”