here has been a sharp rise in serious breaches of environmental rules designed to protect people and wildlife from pollution, analysis by The Times has found. The breaches of Environment Agency (EA) regulations potentially threaten the quality of life of residents who live near farms, waste plants and factories. In recent years incidents have included the accidental release of foul smelling gases from a landfill site in Lancashire, which local residents said ruined Christmas. In 2018 a cheese factory in Cornwall that produces Cathedral City cheddar prompted complaints from locals who said that a “cheesy sewage” smell had been making them nauseous and keeping them up at night. The number of serious breaches of environmental permits in England rose by nearly 50 per cent to 988 in 2018, the latest year for which figures are available.
Times 23rd Oct 2020 read more »