Council to take Walleys Quarry health impacts to Westminster

They agreed urgent action is needed given the impact of the Newcastle landfill's gas emissions on mental and physical health

Silverdale sign, metres away from the landfill site
Author: Adam SmithPublished 27th Jul 2021
Last updated 21st Mar 2022

Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his Cabinet members are to be told about growing physical and mental health concerns arising from Walleys Quarry in Silverdale.

After three hours of evidence from public health officials, plus the Environment Agency, on the problems surrounding low-level Hydrogen Sulphide emissions over many months, members of Staffordshire County Council’s Health and Care Overview and Scrutiny Committee agreed that they will proceed to report and take the issue to all those in Westminster.

What's being actioned?

Letters will be sent to Prime Minister Boris Johnson; Health Secretary Sajid Javed and the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, Robert Jenrick MP.

Speaking after the meeting County Councillor Jeremy Pert, chairman of the scrutiny committee, said:

“This committee doesn’t have the power to call directly for the closure of Walleys Quarry but if the concerns we raise about the impact it is having on residents’ physical and mental wellbeing lead to an urgent and focused response, then this is what the committee want to impress on everyone involved."

“I am unimpressed that this issue has been going since the beginning of the year and we are not a lot further forward in solving it."

Councillor Pert had previously said the catalyst for calling the meeting had been the change in position from health experts that although the long-term risk to health was likely to be small, they were increasingly concerned that if hydrogen sulphide emissions continued at the levels seen before May, the risk to long-term health from pollutants in the area could not be ruled out.

“There is no definite end date in sight and all the while this continues residents suffer physically and mentally.”

Outside the gates at Walleys Quarry landfill in Silverdale

What did Public Health England say in the meeting?

Public Health England toxicologist Dr Ovnair Sepai said that initial advice had been based on the problem lasting up to three months. However now that it was continuing over a longer period, Dr Sepai said there was now concern about the possible long-term impact on the health of those with asthma and other respiratory conditions from sustained low-level exposure.

What did Staffordshire County Council say in the meeting?

Discussing the impact on people’s mental health, Dr Richard Harling, Director of Health and Care at Staffordshire County Council, said that he couldn’t imagine what it was like to cope with the stress of living with the odour week after week without an end date in sight.

He said that he expected physical ‘short term’ health problems such as irritation to eyes and headaches to continue as long as nuisance levels were exceeded and added that the longer the problem continued, the more he expected the community’s mental health to worsen.

"We have enough data to understand these health impacts are real, are serious and we are increasingly concerned as the situation becomes more prolonged"

Committee members heard that as well as a continuing ‘symptom tracker’ which residents were asked to complete on a daily basis, the county council has also commissioned university experts to track numbers of residents asking for help with mental health issues.

The meeting was held at Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council’s Castle House headquarters, with members of the borough council’s Health, Wellbeing and Partnerships Committee present.

Committee members also called for future reassurance regarding the safety of those employed at Walleys Quarry.

Watch the full meeting here...

The Environment Agency Update

The Environment Agency say they are challenging Walleys Quarry Ltd (formerly Red Industries RM Ltd) every step of the way to act to address this and to operate in line with their permits.

On Friday 16 they served CLP Envirogas Limited with a notice for information. CLP Envirogas is subcontracted by Walleys Quarry Limited to manage the gas utilisation plant at the landfill.

The notice requires CLP Envirogas Limited to supply more detailed monitoring information about the operation of the gas utilisation plant by the 25 August.

If they do not comply, it is a criminal offence under the environmental permitting regulations.

You can check out the latest Enviornment Agency update on Walleys Quarry here

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