Environment Agency Newsletter March 2009

Penyffordd drop-in sessions
Two drop-in sessions were held in
Penyffordd Memorial Hall on 30th September
and 1st October 2008.These gave a chance for
people living near the Castle Cement plant to
find out what we were doing and to raise their
concerns with us.People who attended said
they wanted the ability to contact us direct if
there is a pollution incident and also for us to
provide an update on our work in the area at
least once a year.
If there is a pollution incident contact us on our
24 hour incident line 0800 80 70 60 and we will
investigate.

Penyffordd drop-in sessions
An update on Castle Cement

During 2008,odour became a concern for some
people.The temporary nature of this type of
complaint makes it difficult to investigate.We
will continue to work with Castle Cement to
identify all possible causes of odour.We have
also identified other sources of odour nearby
including burning of cables and rubbish and
landspreading.

Complaints about noise and dust were
significantly down in 2008
Numbers of complaints 2007-08
Site audits.
We recently carried out audits of Castle
Cement's management system and their
arrangements for monitoring emissions from the
site. The management system audit was carried
out jointly with the Health &Safety Executive.
We examined how they manage risk,comply
with their permit,how well they monitor
airborne emissions and how to improve
environmental performance.
The control room at Castle Cement
In general the audits showed the site complies
with the permit,has effective systems to control
environmental risks and the people working
there have a positive attitude towards
environmental performance. They also showed
that some management systems need to be
reviewed to make sure they continue to
improve.
Arrangements for monitoring emissions to air
from the permitted release points were generally
satisfactory although some further information
on the calibration of the monitors has been
requested.
We have completed our investigations into the
noise,dust and fire incidents of 2007 and the
file is currently with our legal department.
For more information or if you wish to provide
comments or suggestions relating to the content
of future newsletters please contact Julia Frost
on 01244 894558 or email
julia.frost@environment-agency.wales.gov.uk.
www.environment-agency.gov.uk