Hanson Cement Monitoring

This information was shared with us by a concerned resident following correspondence with Natural Resources Wales about monitoring of emissions, dust and noise from the Hanson Cement factory. It is clear that accountability is down to residents and any concerns should be reported to NRW immediately.

Natural Resources Wales is responsible for issuing the permit and setting the base standards and permittable levels and regulations aligned to the Planning Permission issued from Flintshire County Council for the new plant extension at Padeswood. 

NRW is responsible for issuing and enforcing the Environmental Permit under the Environmental Permitting (England & Wales) Regulations 2016 and the operator must use the Best Available Techniques to operate the plant. Flintshire County Council were a statutory consultee during the permitting of the new kiln and cement mill 5. The permitting regimes for planning and environmental permitting are separate and are enforced separately.

Natural Resource Wales will rely on Hanson Cement self-monitoring their own emissions and/or any problem or high level emissions and then letting you know if they have a problem.When there is a problem reported to Natural Resources Wales over a release of emissions, Hanson Cement investigate it themselvesand report their findings to you.  

Therefore Hanson Cement investigate any complaints against their own operation without independent analysis or follow up at all from Natural Resources Wales or any other independent body or organisation.

All permit holders, including Hanson are responsible for monitoring their own emissions using monitoring standards that must be adhered to. NRW audits the operator emissions monitoring systems as well as compliance with all other aspects of the permit. All monitoring data is submitted to NRW for review. Emission limit breaches must be reported to NRW, as well as emissions from other sources (e.g. unauthorised dust release from a silo) if they cause or have the potential to cause a significant affect on the environment. We review all emission limit breaches and notifications and assess compliance with the permit and take enforcement action as required. The Environmental Permit requires Hanson to investigate complaints. Complaints that are received directly to NRW are investigated if they relate to a significant release or where we receive multiple reports.

There is no monitoring at Hanson Cement plant of other dust emissions from the plant, except those from the operation or kiln which are monitored during operation.

Stack emissions from the kiln, clinker cooler and cement mills are monitored for dust emissions during operation and the kiln stack is continuously monitored for dust and other gases during operation. The operator is required to take appropriate measures to prevent and minimise dust emissions from other sources such as buildings and conveyers. The Permit does not require the monitoring of off site dust, the focus is on prevention at source. Hanson are responsible for minimising emissions through plant inspection and maintenance. The site is monitored by CCTV and shift managers regularly inspect high risk areas of the plant. NRW completes routine inspections and requires the operator to take action if they are not complying with the permit. We also complete unplanned / unannounced site inspections in response to complaints

Natural Resource Wales do not have any regular independent monitoring of air quality, emissions or other testing at all instigated or regularly monitor or checked from the Hanson Cement Factory at Padeswood.

Hanson must complete emissions monitoring in accordance with the permit and the Environment Agency Monitoring Certification Scheme (MCERTs) used to approve people, instruments and laboratories to give confidence in monitoring data. NRW completes Operator Monitoring Assessment (OMA) audits of Hanson emissions monitoring systems. NRW does not complete any independent testing of emissions from the site.

The number of dust complaints received by NRW and Hanson is relatively low and feedback from the community is that dust emissions from the plant have significantly improved over recent years. When complaints are received and samples collected, they often identify materials that are not related to the cement works (sand, pollen, road salt, soil etc). However, some samples do contain significant amounts of dust from the works and these are investigated by Hanson and NRW to identify the cause and to take action to prevent recurrence.

If any members of the community are experiencing dust issues relating to the works then we encourage them to report it to NRW via our incident hotline (03000 65 3000).