A record number of industrial sites, involving well-known companies such as Shanks, Ineos, Scottish Power and Lafarge, have been named and shamed by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) for failing to curb pollution risks.
The Government's green watchdog has censured 25 sites across Scotland for their poor performance in 2007. The sites included 11 waste facilities, eight animal businesses and six energy or manufacturing plants. Many of the sites have broken environmental rules and leaked hazardous pollution, while others have been guilty of management failures.
The release of "operator performance assessments" undertaken by SEPA for Scotland's main industrial enterprises indicate that the proportion of sites officially rated as "unsatisfactory" for failing to properly manage pollution risks is rising.
In 2007, 25 out of 313 sites were declared unsatisfactory, which represented a failure rate of 8%. This compares to 6% in 2006, when 17 of 277 sites failed. Moreover, 11 of the failing sites in 2007 were repeat offenders and four had failed twice before.
Friends of the Earth (FoE) Scotland, chief executive, Duncan McLaren commented, "Companies that repeatedly fail these pollution assessments are a blot on Scotland's green reputation and so harm our economy. SEPA has the power to shut down repeat offenders by withdrawing their permits. It's time it took decisive action."
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