Lead pollution fears have been raised after a chipboard manufacturer in Cowie won a legal battle to burn a factory by-product.
West Fraser successfully argued in court that it should be allowed to burn a woody residue called ‘crumb’ at the site, despite environment watchdogs raising concerns.
In July 2019, Norbord, the company which ran the Cowie site up until January 2021, applied to the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA) to vary its pollution permit so that it would be able to burn the by-product.
SEPA refused permission for the change because of the forecasted spike in pollution levels that it would cause.
The following year, Norbord appealed to Scottish ministers who upheld SEPA’s initial ruling.
In January 2021, Norbord was bought by West Fraser, which appealed to the sheriff court in Edinburgh in November 2021.
On January 29 this year, a sheriff ruled in the company’s favour, though the written decision has still to be published.
SEPA opted not to appeal the decision after taking legal consultation and, in April this year, West Fraser’s permit was amended to allow it to burn off crumb.
A limit on lead emissions was imposed.
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Now, locals are backing action to reduce potential public health risks, with one local councillor consulting with an environmental solicitor to decide the next course of action.
Independent councillor for the Bannockburn ward, Alasdair MacPherson, told the Stirling Observer: “Whilst I know it is West Fraser’s right to challenge any decision in court, I think it’s appalling that they did considering the concerns expressed by SEPA during the determination of their application.
“I have been in contact with environmental solicitors previously after local people expressed concerns over emissions coming from the factory.”
He added: “I will ask them again for legal advice given the sheriff’s decision to grant them consent.”
Cllr MacPherson has also launched a petition calling for a rethink which had over 340 signatures at the time of going to press.
A spokesperson for West Fraser this week told the Observer: “All of our operations are carried out in line with relevant legislation and any conditions that SEPA and the Scottish Government set for us.
“The matter at hand was recently decided in court by a Sheriff.”
A spokesperson for SEPA said: “SEPA have a critical role in securing high environmental performance from those we regulate, reducing pollution and protecting communities.
“We also play a significant role in working with operators to support innovation that creates less waste and improves resource efficiency – helping to create a more prosperous economy.
“Our expert staff made the decision to refuse the requested variation after careful consideration of environmental legislation and the comparator approach, as adopted by all UK environmental agencies.
“This was done to protect the environment and local community from the significant increase in lead emissions.
“While we continue to believe our approach is correct, we have accepted the judgement and completed the variation to allow the burning of WESP crumb as directed.
“We have included further requirements in the permit to set an emission limit value for lead and monitoring and will enforce compliance against them.
“SEPA will continue to take decisions on end-of-waste and by-products on a case-by-case basis, applying the comparator approach to assess any overall adverse environmental or human health impact.”
Cowie Community Council is set to discuss the issue at a public meeting later this month where it’s hoped that representatives from West Fraser and SEPA will be in attendance.
The meeting will take place at Cowie Community Centre at 7.15pm on Wednesday, September 25.