Pending the results of an investigation by The Environment Agency, a waste management company in the United Kingdom will no longer be allowed to put its industrial waste in the sewage system. The ban came after the Agency was notified of a dire pollution incident in the River Trent. The Agency is accusing the company, Red Industries Ltd. of possibly being responsible for a discharge of cyanide into the local sewer system. This system eventually ends up in the River Trent, which is one of the largest rivers in the United Kingdom.
Currently the water system treats sewage with organisms which clean the water before it is released back into the River Trent. Agency examiners notice that the organisms used to treat the sewage were dying which led to untreated sewage being allowed into the river. This untreated sewage has already killed many fish which led the Agency to continue its investigation. What they found was that cyanide had been released illegally into the sewer system.
The Environmental Agency said it aims to prosecute the offenders under the Water Resources act, which makes it illegal to dump poisonous matter directly into rivers. Thus far Red Industries Ltd. has been slapped with a suspension while the investigation continues as to their part in the cyanide.
There are no limits on the fines which can be levied if the case were to make it to Crown Court. Similar situations have found companies paying fines of over two hundred thousand pounds. However, some involved with the preservation of UK rivers say that these fines are not nearly steep enough and do little to prevent further pollution.
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