A leading US hard-disc manufacturer, Seagate Technology Media (Ireland) Ltd, has been fined £6,000 after pleading guilty to discharging toxic chemicals into a Londonderry sewerage system.
The Environment and Heritage Service (EHS) were alerted to the discharge by a major fish kill affecting the River Roe, in which 140 dead salmon and 95 sea trout were recovered from the toxic water.
The company admitted knowingly or otherwise discharging poisonous, noxious or polluting matter into a waterway in Limavady in contravention of the Water (Northern Ireland) Order SI 1999/662.
A defence lawyer claimed the company had no previous convictions and had an otherwise good environmental record.
However, Magistrate Eamon King said he regarded the incident as a very serious matter and that, "Industrial processes have an obligation to examine that anything emanating from the plant is not harmful to local wildlife." He added that greater diligence in researching the background and history of the chemical involved in the fish kill could have prevented it.
