Environmental health

Cuprajake

Hi all,

Wondering if there anyone who knows a bit more about this

Where I work, we’ve owned the building for I’ve 40yrs

About 5yrs back a firm moved in who do waterproofing of material

By product of this is a fairly thick white smoke

Now you can taste this smoke, it makes your tongue tingle, gives me a tight throat, it’s really not very nice.

Ive tackled them a few times but they don’t care,

I’ve reported to the council multiple times, as have other business round us.

How do I escalate it further?

Any ideas as the council are useless.

Cheers Jake

DavecUK

Cuprajake Hard to believe they are allowed to emit this type of smoke directly without some kind of filtration such as an electrostatic filter. Especially as it’s affecting you where you are?

Gagaryn

Write a recorded delivery letter to the Council asking for a meeting to discuss your concerns.

If that gets you nowhere, write to your MP noting your concerns and asking them to take action.

PortafilterProcrastinator

If it is on a commercial scale, you could look at DEFRA and the Environment Agency. I’d also think if it is having those effects the HSE might be interested too.

Whilst the smoke might be your main concern, are they disposing of trade effluent into the main sewer as well? That would need to be controlled/ monitored.

Cuprajake

yeah i know its very frustrating, i actually rang the company again,

had the manager come round gave me some bs excuse of the machine not being set right but this is been going on over a 5yr period, he basically said its a process they use and wont be changing it, so suck it up. i just said to him when im going home, having to take antihistamines and have a tight throat its not right, ive taken his number for next time it happens and he can come look. the products being used are anti mold, anti rot, waterproofing etc.

the council have had multiple complaints around us, not just me, ive reported personally 4 times, i even had a sheet i had to mark when we were having issues which the council just ignored

we are a commercial area now, but not as big as it is now and just across the river is a school and housing estate.

DavecUK

Cuprajake First do everything in writing (e-mail). If you have a local paper, contact them, these firms hate publicity. You can also tell the paper the council have done nothing. Let the council know what you are doing as well. There are 2 areas of law that apply, environmental control and the clean air act. T

here are certain industrial processes which have the potential to cause significant air pollution and harm to the environment. Such businesses have to apply for a permit to be able to operate under the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2016. Depending on the type of industrial process and its potential to cause pollution, the permits are issued and controlled by the pollution regulator which will be Environment Agency or, the local authority.

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1990/43/section/79

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1993/11/contents

Environmental protection UK say this:

If you are not able to resolve a nuisance problem yourself, contact your local authority Environmental Health Department (but see above for other names for this service). They must investigate your complaint, and you should ask for details about how they will do this. They must take action on your behalf if they believe a statutory nuisance is occurring, or likely to occur or recur. Section 79 of the Environmental Protection Act says they must take “such steps as are reasonably practicable” to investigate your complaint. They may write to or visit the person causing the nuisance, asking them to take any steps that may be necessary to reduce the problem.