Spillages occur every day throughout the country. Pollution of land, air or water can have devastating short and long term impacts. Research has shown that the majority of incidents on industrial sites result from accidents, but involve avoidance, ignorance or sheer apathy towards the relevant environmental issues.

Careless pollution of the environment is no longer acceptable to the general public, industry or government. The increasing severity with which pollution incidents are policed and the level of fines imposed by the courts, reflect these changing attitudes. Magistrates courts can impose fines of up to £500,000 for pollution offences, and if a case proceeds to the Crown Court there is no limit to the fine. Even when a case is not taken to court, the cost of repairing the damage still has to be met, for instance, oil skimming and removal, contaminated land remediation, restocking of fish and so on. Personal convictions can also be meted out to company Directors.

Pollution incidents inevitably bring bad publicity, and can have ramifications with insurers, and more and more commonly, with stakeholders. Indeed, many insurance companies issue general policies that no longer cover pollution clean up costs, and will certainly demand greater premiums if a company has a history of pollution incidents.

Contact Eco Technology Limited for free information, a site survey and discussions on how to make pollution prevention pay for your company.