Need someone to give me a report on a Heath&Safety report

Hi guys,
Am hoping the hive mind can help? Fighting the co council about a local factory spewing out toxic solvent fumes. After 4/5yrs, they both came to an agreement (court case) and works were done on spraypaint emissions ( kitchen factory) but we are still inhaling solvents - the air is toxic with them.
An email to me last week from the council said we're done, put up with it and here's a report we had done. It's 105 pages - and i can't make head or tail of it. I need a summary of it to continue my fight against both the council and the factory.
Who am i looking for? Most env. engineers do water etc.
There is a particularly alarming list of chemicals on 2 pages that i need explained.
I have contacted/rang the obvious places and they don't do it they say.

Any leads would be gratefully received,
Mary

oliveoil said:

if i can put a link up as a new user?

Click to expand...

My apologies, I missed that.

You need a toxicologist's input to identify what the chemicals are (if they're listed as brand names only, e.g. EvoStik) and what harms they might cause and in what concentrations. I'd find it strange that the LA didn't do that. Do councils employ toxicologists or is that private labs / HSE only?

Is there any way you can extract that part of the report and paste it in here or re-type it as part of a post?

Hi mathepac,
Sorry - hour between posts caught me.
No, there is no brand name - just chemicals. I will list some - benzene, chloroform, carbon tetrachloride, dichloromethane, acetone, heptane, hexane etc.
Mary

The chemicals are only part of it. I was told it was an air quality study of the air around the factory but from a brief scan, it looks like a health and safety report for the inside of the factory only.

I need to know why we can still smell the solvents (which hang very low in the air) if the works were done correctly and the filtration system was newly installed.

The solvents, depending on wind direction, can be smelt at least half a mile away or more on certain days for hours or for the whole day. It comes into the house (and i have to close the windows) and i cannot go into the garden during it.

I wonder also how other factories of this type filtrate?

And yes i'm aware the council were hoping to drown me in scientific jargon and withheld the non-technical summary on purpose - they do not like me .

PS the EPA are not involved since the factory stopped breaking their licensing terms (this is how it started - a fog of pollution being pumped out - there was a newspaper article about it - reported by me). The first step of any pollution and H&S is now co councils. The EPA said it is no longer breaking licencing laws but it is not allowed to pollute.... so it was under the council again.

I am loath to go into the whole saga on a public forum due to legalities but i was freely given the report and so i intend to use it - hopefully.

Sounds like the filtration systems are not working effectively.

Benzene

Chloroform

Dichloromethane

Carbon tetrachloride

Acetone

Heptane

Hexane

I think you need help in establishing how much of the various chemicals are escaping the factory filtration system(s), what the concentrations are and how harmful they are. It would appear some on the list are more harmful than others, although I don't doubt that in isolation and in combination they can be extremely unpleasant.

Who are your local councillors and who is your local TD? Can you make copies of the report available to them and seek their help in getting measurements made of the PPM* in the local air as part of an air quality study?

Sorry I can't be of more direct help, maybe others in here can and I'm sorry that you've been given the brush off by the LA.

*PPM = parts per million

The chemical levels are in the report. I don't know what is allowed etc. And the other questions.

*Brendan has kindly allowed me to link the document but i can't get it to work.

Earlier i hit the paperclip, it went to my files and i selected it. Now a box for text or url comes up?

If someone could give a hand? What am i doing wrong?

Thank you.

A quick scan of the report indicates that the measurement points are within the factory and the measurements are for the safety of operatives within the work areas indicated.

My quick scan of the dozens and dozens of tables that the document contains indicates that there are no measurements taken outside the facility. In other words no measures of what the facility as a whole emits into the atmosphere, which is what you need. I concur with your "blind you with science" conclusion.

Ask the LA for their report report for emissions from the factory into the atmosphere. I'll keep looking; the information may be in there somewhere, but it's well hidden. This is not a report for the lay person.

Thank you so much Mathepac. Appreciate you giving up your time.

At times, i think i'm paranoid but...

I really need someone to put their name to that finding officially before i pass it to a journalist.

An environmental engineer? Retired, phd, consultant? I'll take anyone!

Or is it they were so confident handing over the report because if everything "correct" levels in factory, it is not pollution if if goes outside?

I am also looking for someone experienced in filtration. What is going "out" cannot be acceptable. Did you see anything about their filtration system out of the factory? I saw one mention of a ceramic filter?

I had a quick look at the report . On the first page it says that 'The aim of the monitoring campaign was to demonstrate compliance with a set of emission limit values as specified in the site licence' but the report doesn't do that. The tables in 1.4 give details of the concentrations of the various contaminants that were measured but the 'Limit' column is N/a in all cases. You have no way of knowing if the results are lower or higher than the limits. Do you have a copy of site license referred to? If you do you could compare it to the values measured or attach it here. If not I would suggest you go back to the council with the following query

'The report provided states that 'The aim of the monitoring campaign was to demonstrate compliance with a set of emission limit values as specified in the site licence' however it does not do that. No emission limit values are provided in the report and no compliance demonstrated. Please provide details of the emission limit values for all contaminants and confirmation if the monitoring results exceed these values or not.'

This would be the first step, to see if the factor is operating within its license. If its not then the Council should be enforcing the license. If they are within their licence limits then you have a more difficult task in trying to prove that those limits are wrong.

This feels like something a local public representative might be interested in pursuing if there was a wider interest within your neighbourhood.

Peanuts,
Thank you, i will do that. All i know is that thay are allowed emit up to 10,000 tonnes of gases etc under licence as i had various emails from the epa about it. I appreciate the input.

Salvadore,
I have one co councillor who has helped from the beginning but it has been a slow, hard slog. The only reason anything has been done is with his help and the appointment of a new county manager who made things happen (up to a point!).
I contacted everyone up to the environment minister, and tds along the way - emphasis on the green party. Nothing came of any of it - in fact i quit the green party over it and when Trevor Sargeant came to the door canvassing last year, he heard the lot along with a vow to never vote green again with them. I nearly felt sorry for him.
A residents association and members from other estates have complained etc i was told - not by the council - and i suppose it looks like something has been done as there is some improvement.

I am continuing to do my own thing. I had a great journalist interested (the council block nearly all inquiries under gdpr etc) but she got an article out early on. It barely registered - people presume a) it's not too bad, b) someone else will sort it or c) it doesn't affect me.

The smell is mainly when most people are in work and gone by 5pm and a shocking amount of people cannot smell.

Thank you all x

Google the journal.ie and name of the company on the report for the article.

The journalist then left for a job in government.....

Peanuts and Mathepac - success from your input!

The issues you raised, especially the one Peanuts raised, were excellent.
Turns out they are now ordering a report on the report..... you could not make it up....

Well, when i saw the client had paid for the "independent" report, i knew what i was up against but this defies all reason. The sheer waste of time and energy....

I would say i'm appalled - but this is just the usual with them.

Thanks again.