The IndustrialPollution FAQs

About this GuideThis guide is designed to answer yourquestions about pollution, factories,your health, your rights, and the lawto do with pollution in Scotland. FAQstands for Frequently AskedQuestions. It starts at the beginningand it’s written for you. You don’tneed any experience, just a bit oftime to read and the willingness toimprove your local area.

1. Your Health FAQs - Industriesuse and release a large number ofdifferent chemicals. The Health FAQsexplain how many of these could bedamaging your health.

2. Law FAQs – A factory is only allowedto release a certain amount ofchemicals. Releasing more is breakingthe law. You can use these laws andothers to make sure your health issafe.

3. The Science FAQs – Understandinghow pollution acts in air, land andwater lets you know the dangers inyour local area.

4. The Action FAQs – Sometimes it’s upto you to take action and improve yourlocal factory. Want some practicaladvice on what to do? This bit’s foryou then

The Industrial Pollition FAQ-sheetDo you live near a factory site? Do you see smoke and wonder what you’re

breathing in? Are there smells near your house or sewage in your stream? Doyou worry that your health might be affected? Want to know more about

what’s going on? Want to do something about it?

The EnvironmentThe environment is not adistant far off thing; it’sall around us. It’s the

air we breathe, thewater we drink, the foodwe eat, it’s our homes

and our gardens, the soilin which we grow our

food and the city, townsor countryside where wespend our lives. We live

in the environment.

ChemicalsEverything you touch is a

chemical substance:water, soil, food, your

car and your coffee mug,even you and your

friends are made entirelyfrom chemicals. Often

chemical substances canbe involved in reactionswith other chemicals.Reactions create newchemical substances.

Industrial pollutionPolluted air, water or land contains

unwanted chemicals that candamage our health and the healthof the environment. Waste madein our factories and released into

the environment is where many ofthese polluting chemicals come

from. In some areas, this wastefrom nearby factories or plants

may be affecting the health of thelocal people. This is industrial

pollution.

Industry in ScotlandIndustry is vital to Scotland.There are six non-renewablepower stations, almost threehundred chemical manufacturingplants, about one-hundred andfifty paper mills, three hundredquarries and over eight thousandfactories. These provide jobs,consumer products, and asustainable economy. Industry isessential to our everyday lives butwe must not overlook the widerenvironmental and health impacts.

A Few Words You Need to Know

So, What’s Dangerous to myHealth?Many chemicals have the potential to harmyour health. Toxicity measures howdangerous a chemical is. A highly toxicchemical can be harmful in very smallamounts while a chemical of low toxicity willonly be dangerous if lots of it enters ourbody.

Moving From the Environmentto YouChemicals in the environment can only affectyour health if they enter your body or touchyour skin. This can happen through yourlungs, your stomach and guts or throughyour skin. The amount of a chemical thatenters your body is called the dose.

Accidents where toxic chemicals are spilt orreleased into the air can result in acuteexposure. This means a one-off incidentwhere your body is exposed to a largeamount of toxic chemicals for a short time.You are likely to feel the effects of thisstraight away, for example coughing,headache, rash and possibly death.

You are much more likely, however, toexperience chronic exposure. This meanson-going exposure everyday to low levels oftoxic chemicals over a long time. The effectsand diseases due to this type of exposurewill not be felt straight away but possiblymonths or years later.

Toxic Chemicals in Your BodyThree things affect how your body respondsto toxins:

• The more toxic chemicals that enteryour body the more your health will beaffected, in other words the bigger thedose the more your health will beaffected.

• The more toxic these chemicals are themore your health will be affected.

• The longer these chemicals stay in yourbody the more your health will beaffected.

Over time the human body will break mostchemicals down into smaller chemical

products that will dissolve in water, like sugarin tea. This allows the body to quickly andeasily get rid of these chemicals when you goto the toilet or when you sweat.

Unfortunately some toxic chemicals, likedioxins, do not easily break down and willbecome stored in the body’s fat. Chemicalsthat become stored in our fat reserves canstay in the body for a very long time.

Chronic (long-term) exposure to this kind of‘fat-seeking’ chemical can be dangerous. Ifyou experience even very small amounts of achemical everyday the amount in your fatwill build up and up because your body can’tremove it. Over time you may build upenough toxic chemical in your fat to createserious health effects, like cancer orproblems with the nervous system.

Also, old or young people and those who arealready ill may be more affected by toxicchemicals compared to healthy people.Some chemicals may also affect men andwomen differently due to differences in themale and female body.

Man-Made ChemicalsSince the industrial revolution two hundredyears ago humans have been making moreand more synthetic chemicals. These arechemicals that do not exist naturally on theEarth but have been designed and madeby man.

Today toxic and non-toxic syntheticchemicals are all around us. Detergents,drugs, soaps, deodorants, shampoo, paint,computers and plastics are all everydaythings that contain synthetic chemicals.These products and the waste released bythe industries producing syntheticchemicals are now in our air, water, soils,and increasingly in our bodies.

The long-term effect of many of these newchemicals on human health is mostlyunknown. Despite this lackof knowledge we continueto use and release moreand more syntheticchemicals.

1. Your Health FAQs

Testing ToxicityTests are done to help us decide howdangerous or toxic a chemical might be tohuman health. These tests are usually doneon mice and rats in a laboratory and ifpossible include looking at human healthafter accidental exposure to the chemical.

One of the aims of this testing is to find amaximum amount of the chemical that hasno effect on human health. This is called theNo Observed Adverse Effect Level or NOAEL.This number is used to work out how muchof the chemical it is safe for humans torelease into the environment through thingslike factories and exhaust fumes.

These tests have some problems. In ourenvironment we are exposed to a mixture oftoxic chemicals from many different sources.In our bodies these different chemicalsinteract in ways we don’t fully understand

and some mixtures produce health effectsthat our tests on individual chemicals did notpredict. Chronic exposure is especially hardstudy as the tests need to run for a verylong time and the health effects can takemany years to become serious.

It is a fact that our tests are neverconclusive. Because of this the risk of usinga chemical must be balanced against itsbenefits. It’s a bit like deciding to drive acar: you know you might be injured on theroad (0.3% of people in Scotland were in2006) but most of the time the benefit ofgetting to where you want outweighs the riskso you drive.

The PrecautionaryPrincipleIf some tests on a chemical showedthe possibility of it being toxic thenmost people would say we probablyshouldn’t use that chemical, “Betterto be safe than sorry”. In law thisapproach is called the PrecautionaryPrinciple. It says that lack ofconclusive proof that a chemical isdangerous shouldn’t stop us fromusing cost-effective ways to preventenvironmental damage, which couldinclude banning the use of thatchemical. The PrecautionaryPrinciple is favoured by manyenvironmental organisations as anapproach for dealing with chemicalsused in industry.

Next Steps• Have a look at the SEPA’s substance information

www.sepa.org.uk/spri/substance/sublist.aspx forinformation about the known health effects of specificchemicals.

Silent SpringsIn 1962 farmers were using thepesticide DDT. In the same year,research scientist Rachel Carsonpublished the book ‘Silent Spring’alerting the public to the dangersof DDT. She spoke of a spring inthe future without songbirdsbecause pesticides preventedtheir reproduction. Carson waspersonally and professionallyattacked by the pesticideindustry but the evidence provedher right. After years ofcampaigning DDT is now bannedfor agricultural use worldwide.

So, where do I begin?You’ve already begun! This FAQ-sheet willrun you through what you need to know tostart making a difference.

Scottish law controls industrial pollutionthrough a set of rules called the PollutionPrevention and Control regulations, or PPCregulations for short. These regulations arepretty long and complex: here’s a simplifiedversion.

First thing: Who’s responsible?It’s the job of the Scottish EnvironmentProtection Agency (SEPA) to look after therunning of the PPC regulations and to makesure all our factories are following them.

Ok, How do SEPA do that?A company wishing to run a factory that hasemissions to the environment must firstapply for a permit to do so from SEPA. Thecompany or factory operator must completea detailed application form that includesdetails on industrial processes performed,emissions (including noise, odour, heatreleases to water and air), waste productsproduced, management strategies and achapter on environmental impact and humanhealth effects.

SEPA looks at each application and decides ifthey should grant a permit that allows thecompany to operate their factory or plant.The public have the right to voice theiropinions at this stage. SEPA should rejectthe company’s application if:

• the factory hasn’t made enough effortto minimise its environmental impact

• it is thought the factory will damagethe environment in an unacceptableway.

There is more on how SEPA deals with PPCapplications for permit and how to getinvolved at: www.sepa.org.uk/ppc/ppd

This Factory’s Already got aPermit!

The permit is a legal document and will statethe level of emissions (chemicals) a factorymay release. If the factory releases morethan this they are breaking their permitconditions and SEPA has powers to dosomething about it.

SEPA does keep a check on factories. ThePPC regulations require factories to measurethe amount of specific chemicals they releaseand give this information to SEPA. Thisinformation is called environmentalmonitoring data. This data will tell SEPA,and you, if the factory ever releases morepollution than they are legally allowed undertheir permit conditions.

SEPA may also spot-check the factory andcarry out independent monitoring. Thereshould be more monitoring where theemissions pose a greater threat to theenvironment and your health.

2. PPC Law FAQs

Scottish law controls the pollution produced by our factories. You have theright to live without pollution affecting your health but to make sure this isthe case it’s important to understand how the law works.

Legislation background

Two pieces of legislation, IntegratedPollution Control (IPC) and Local AirPollution Control (LAPC), haveregulated industrial processes since1990. In 2000 the new PollutionPrevention and Control (PPC)regulations were introduced and arecurrently replacing the old IPC andLAPC regulations in steps. Thisreplacement should be mainlycomplete by October 2007.

Since 2000, the new PPC regulationshave been amended various times.These amendments clarify the originalregulations and ‘bolt-on’ otherregulations.

• The full PPC legislation documentand amendments are availableat:www.sepa.org.uk/ppc/legislation

What if factories aren’tfollowing their permit?

• Notices - If the permit conditions arebroken SEPA has the power in law toissue an Enforcement notice. Thesenotices include the steps operatorsmust take to start following theirpermit. Also, a permit may besuspended with a Suspension notice orwithdrawn with a Revocation notice.

• Court Action - SEPA may take stepsto bring a factory operator to court ifthey do not follow the Enforcementnotices or seriously break conditions oftheir permit by reporting them to theProcurator Fiscal. Court actions and

most notices are used when SEPAthinks they should. In addition if inSEPA’s opinion there is a ‘risk ofserious pollution’ SEPA must issue aSuspension notice or take steps to“remove that risk”.

• Appeals process – A factory operatormay appeal any Enforcement noticethrough the Scottish Ministers. Theappeal may be discussed throughletters or by a hearing if requested bySEPA or the operator. A ScottishMinister appointed person would decidewhether this hearing will be public orprivate. Scottish Ministers may rejectthe operator’s appeal or withdrawSEPA’s notice and give advice. Duringthe appeals process the factory mustfollow any notice already given, exceptin the case of a Revocation notice.

• Polluter pays - If there is a pollutionrelease that requires action, SEPA mayarrange to clean the affected area andthen charge the company responsiblefor the pollution. The company mustpay SEPA, or prove that there was nopollution emergency or there wereunnecessarily high costs involved.

Part A and Part BThe PPC regulations define two typesof industrial activity, called Part A andPart B. Part A sites are generallylarger industrial sites and theregulations cover all types ofemissions to air, water or land. Part Aindustries have the greatest potentialto pollute. Part B are smaller siteswhere the PPC regulations coveremissions to air. Emissions towater,at these smaller sites may becovered by separate regulationsknown as Controlled ActivitiesRegulations (CAR).

Part A industries include metal works,chemical factories, oil and gas works,pharmaceutical (medical drug)manufacture, landfills, paper making,intensive poultry and pig rearing andfood processing sites.

Most Part A industries used to beregulated by the IPC and Part Bindustries used to be regulated byLAPC. Some industries, for exampleintensive poultry and pig rearing arebeing brought into regulation for thefirst time. After October 2007, allPart A and the majority of Part Bprocesses will be regulated by thePPC regulations.

• Full descriptions of Part A andPart B activities are included inSchedule 1 of the PPCRegulations 2000 atwww.sepa.org.uk/ppc/legislation

Finding out about yourlocal industryThat is a summary of how the law andhow SEPA regulates polluting factories.You can find out more about the specificfactory or factories that might beaffecting you and your environment atyour local SEPA office.

All PPC applications, permits,environmental monitoring data andenforcement actions are available to thepublic. All this information is held atSEPA offices around Scotland in theirlibraries, which are called PublicRegisters. Have a look at the ActionFAQs for a guide to viewing the details ofyour factory at SEPA’s public registries.

What is pollution?Pollution can defined as unwanted chemicalsor substances that are damaging to thehealth of the environment or human health,and often both. The word ‘pollutants’ meansthe actual chemical or substance that iscausing the pollution.

Pollutants can exist as a liquid, solid or gas.As a result, pollution can be almostanywhere in our environment - in the land,water, living things or the air. Pollutants canmove between these different places. In factfor human health to be affected by airpollution the pollutants must pass from theair into the human body, usually through thelungs, and into the blood stream.

3. Industrial Science FAQs

Common IndustrialPollutantsYou can find out which pollutants yourlocal industries might be producing fromthe factory’s PPC application held in yourlocal SEPA office – see the Action FAQsfor help.

Air pollution

- Particulates

- Heavy metals

- Volatile organic compounds (VOCs)

- Dioxins and polycyclic aromatichydrocarbons (PAHs)

- Nitrogen oxides (NOx)

- Sulphur oxides (SOx)

- Global air pollutants

- Smells

- Visual pollution

Land Pollution

- Organic chemicals

- Heavy metals

Water pollution

- Ammonia

- Heat

- Too many nutrients

- Heavy metals

- Organic chemicals

More detailed information about thenature of these chemicals is available inAnnex 3 of the ‘Friends of the Earth’sPolluting Factory Campaign Guide’.www.foe.co.uk/resource/reports/polluting_factory_campaign_guide.pdf.

See Your Health FAQs for an introductionto how chemicals could affect yourhealth.

Chemicals in theEnvironmentA range of non-toxic to very toxicchemicals are released into theenvironment by human activityeveryday. Three things can happen tothese chemicals:

• Chemicals will break down overtime, like leaves rotting in yourgarden. Most chemicals willbreak down and produce otherchemicals that are less toxic.Some take a few minutes tobreak down while others takeyears.

• Some chemicals are describedas persistent. This means theytake hundreds of years to breakdown into less toxic products.Imagine a crisp packet in a pileof rotting leaves. The crisppacket could be described aspersistent as it will not changeeven though the leaves breakdown to compost.

• Some chemicals will break downin the environment intoproducts that are more toxicthan the original chemicals.

Sources of Industrial PollutionThe source of pollution affecting you or yourenvironment may not be immediatelyobvious. If you live close to a few industriesyou may not know which factory is polluting,or possibly the discharges from a fewfactories are combining to create a pollutionproblem. With a little investigation you maybe able to work this out for yourself, if not,ask SEPA for help. An understanding of thevarious ways in which waste is discharged isessential.

• Planned Releases are intentionalpollutant discharges throughsmokestacks to the air or throughpipes to a sewer or river. Thepollutants may undergo some kind oftreatment to make them less harmfulbefore discharge. As described in theLaw FAQs, the permits issued tofactories by SEPA define how muchwaste they may discharge. As long asthese limits are not exceeded thefactory is not breaking the law.However legal discharges may still bepolluting the environment. In thesecases you may need to push SEPA fora change in the permit.

• Unplanned Releases are chemicaldischarges that were not supposed tohappen. These could be liquid or gasleaks from badly maintained pipes oraccidental spills of chemicals. Spillsare the most common cause of severepollution incidents. Factories may buildlow containing walls called bunds thatare designed to contain accidentalspills. Unfortunately there are caseswhere these walls are in poor repair,contain gaps or even have drainsinside the containment area thatdeliver the spilled chemicals straight tothe river!

• Fugitive emissions do not help thefactory produce its product and may beplanned or unplanned. Examplesinclude emissions due to equipmentleaks, overflow valves, windblown dust,evaporating fuel or the intentionalflaring of natural gas.

Unplanned releases (and many fugitiveemissions) will not be monitored butbetter planning and good practice bythe factory operator can reduce theirimpact on human health and theenvironment.

Pollution in the environmentWhen polluting chemicals leave a factorythrough planned or unplanned emissionsthey enter our complex and changingenvironment. Pollution in the air might reachthe land through rain, it might then be takenup by plants and eaten by animals orhumans, or the polluting chemicals mighttravel large distances through streams andrivers.

If pollution is to affect your health thepolluting chemicals must travel from thesource of the pollution, e.g. a stack or pipe,through the environment to the human body.This travel happens in different waysdepending on whether the pollution is in theair, land or water.

Air Pollution FAQsIndustrial PlumesFactories get rid of some waste through tallchimneys called smokestacks. This wasteoften contains potentially polluting chemicals.The flow of waste you can see from a stackis referred to as the plume, which is basicallythe smoke you see coming from the factorychimney. This plume will travel through theatmosphere and disperse (spread out) as itmoves.

As a plume spreads out the pollutants in thewaste mix with the air and become more andmore dilute. The idea is that stacks are builttall enough to allow the pollution time todilute down to a concentration that isthought to be safe before it reaches ourlungs. That’s why stacks are so tall.

Fugitive EmissionsFugitive emissions, like gas leaks orevaporating petrol, will generally be releasedclose to the ground surface. This may notallow enough time for the pollutants to mixwith the air and dilute to a safe level. Forpeople living close to a factory or landfill site,fugitive emissions may be an importantsource of pollution that is not normallymonitored.

How does air pollution travel?If the plume is hotter than the surroundingair it will move upward. If the plume iscolder than the surrounding air it will sinkdown. If a plume sinks there will be lesstime for it to spread out and people livingclose to the factory will breath in morepollution.

The direction of the wind controls the side-ways movement of air pollution. So if youare down-wind of a pollution source, like afactory, you are more likely to be breathingin the air pollution.

Next Steps

The Air, Land and Water PollutionFAQs offer a beginners guide topollution in these threeenvironments. So read on!

How could air pollution affect me?If air pollution exists in the air that you breath thenyour health may be affected. The more concentratedthe pollution is the greater the effects will be but evenvery small amounts of pollution over a long time couldhave an effect on your body. Read the Your Health

FAQs for more information.

Land Pollution FAQs

We live off our land. The soil gives us food,plants, building materials and provides ahome for our wildlife. The groundwater thatis stored in the land provides a safe anddependable source of drinking water.Pollution does however affect some ofScotland’s land.

Scotland’s soilSoil is made of really small grains of rock,old plants that have died and are rotting,water, air and tiny living things called micro-organisms. There are many types of soileach with a different chemical make-up. Thelocal rock type, climate, and vegetation coverall contribute to your local soil type.

All soils can receive a certain level ofpollution and remain healthy. This isbecause the organisms in the soil break thepolluting chemicals down into harmlesschemicals. Too much pollution however andthe organisms themselves will die and thesoil looses its ability to deal with any furtherpollution.

Food and plants growing on polluted land canbe poisoned by the pollution and won’t growas well. They will also absorb some of thepollution and may be harmful to eat.

How does land becomepolluted?Land pollution may come from leakingstorage tanks, poorly looked after pipes,accidental spills of chemicals used inindustry, or waste that is dumped on theland itself. Typically, industries like oilrefineries, metal smelters, the textileindustry, mining works and chemical workscreate the most land pollution.

How is land pollutiondefined?Land that is polluted is commonlyreferred to as contaminated land. Itis important to know the legaldefinition of contaminated land if youare to convince your local authoritythat your garden or allotment ispolluted and needs cleaned up.

Under Part IIA of the EnvironmentProtection Act 1990 contaminatedland is defined as:

"any land which appears to thelocal authority in whose area itis situated to be in such acondition, by reason ofsubstances in, on or under theland, that:

• significant harm is beingcaused or there is significantpossibility of such harm beingcaused; or

• pollution of surface waters andground water is being, or islikely to be, caused."

‘Harm’ in this sense means damageto human beings, ecological systems,living organisms, crops, produce,livestock, or buildings.

What happens to pollution inthe soil?The soil can act like a sponge for pollution.It may hold polluting chemicals and stopthem from reaching the river or airenvironments. The chemicals may be storedin the soil, broken down by organisms or beinvolved in chemical reactions with variousconsequences. What happens to thepollutants is dependent on various factorsthat are outlined below.

• Pollutant characteristics – Each type ofpolluting chemical will act within thesoil environment in a certain waydepending on what type of chemical itis.

• Soil acidity – pH is a measurement ofhow acid-like something is. pH 1represents the most acid-like while pH14 represents the most alkaline orleast acid-like. A healthy soil will havea pH between 5 and 8. With lower soilpH (more acidity) some chemicals, likeheavy metals, dissolve more easily inwater. This means the chemicals canmove into the groundwater and intoplants and animals leading to apotential health risk for humans thatdrink that water or eat those plantsand animals.

• Soil moisture and temperature –Moisture and temperature also partlycontrol the time it takes for pollutingchemicals to break down in the soil.Pollutants that have broken down aregenerally not dangerous to humanhealth.

• Clay content and organic matter – Clayis a type of rock with very tiny grainsand organic matter is the remains ofdead plants and animals. Manypolluting chemicals tend to stick to clayand organic matter so more of thesegrains mean more pollution will stay inthe soil and break down.

Further Information• The North West Food & Health

Task Force provides a goodguide to assessing and dealingwith potential landcontamination:www.farmgarden.org.uk/Documents/ContaminatedLand.pdf.Note: This guide was writtenfor England and Wales. If youlive in Scotland, substituteSEPA for where theEnvironment Agency ismentioned.

• Find out what happens whenpollution reaches the humanbody by reading our HealthFAQ’s page.

• Detailed profiles of industriesand their risk to the land areavailable at www.environment-agency.gov.uk/subjects/landquality/113813/1166435.

How can landcontamination affect me?

If there is a pathway for the pollutingchemicals present in the soil to pass intothe human body there is a risk that yourhealth will be affected. The potentialpathways are: the ingestion (eating) ofsoil, dust or vegetables; dermal (skin)contact of polluted soil; and inhalation(breathing) of dust or pollution vapour.

There are further potential pathways ifthe pollution in the soil passes into thegroundwater. Groundwater flows slowlythrough the soil and rock and mayeventually be discharged to a river orextracted through wells for drinkingwater.

Pilton PollutedOne area of Pilton, Edinburgh is rightnext to land polluted by years ofheavy industry on the site. Therecent clean up of the land createddust and several residentscomplained of illness. Soil testsshowed the land was today withinthe safe levels for pollution.However, the cumulative effect onpeoples’ health over years ofpollution is more difficult to study.

Water Pollution FAQs

Water is the basis of all life. The humanbody is two-thirds water; it transports all ournutrients, allows our cells to grow, gets rid ofour waste products, keeps us cool andperforms thousands of other essentialfunctions. Almost all chemical reactionsinvolve water or take part in the presence ofwater. For this reason the behaviour ofpolluting chemicals in water is complex. Thispage summarises the important factsrelevant to reducing water pollution in yourlocal environment.

Factory waste and treatmentThe liquid waste that is discharged from afactory is called effluent. This effluentreaches the river through discharge pipes.These pipes can normally be seen stickingout from the river banks.

If the effluent is known to be harmful it willbe treated within the factory to make it lessdangerous and to recover materials that canbe recycled. The level of this treatment canvary greatly. After this initial treatment theeffluent will either be discharged directly to ariver near the factory or it willbe discharged to the sewagesystem. In the sewagesystem the effluent will befurther treated with the restof the household sewagebefore being discharged toa nearby river.

The pollution riskIn some cases thistreatment is not goodenough and the riverdownstream of the discharge pipe canbecome polluted. More commonly, thetreatment under normal conditions is fine butduring floods there may be a pollutionrelease. The extra water present duringheavy rain will flood the treatment works.Effluent entering the works for treatment willbe discharged to the river through overflowdrains and will not receive the treatmentrequired to make it safe to the environment.

Groundwater pollution is another form ofwater pollution. Most commonly this occursas a result of a chemical spill on land.

Pollution transport in waterPollution that is present in water will follow inthe direction of the water flow. In otherwords pollution will always flow downstream.As the polluting chemicals move downstreamthey will disperse (spread out) and becomemore and more diluted. This happens due tothe natural mixing of moving water.

How Do Chemicals Act When InWater? A wide range of chemicals can be present inwater. Some chemicals in a liquid state maymix with water, like diluting juice, and mostsolid chemicals used in industry will dissolvein water, like sugar in tea. The majorexceptions to these are hydrocarbons.Hydrocarbons are substances like oil, petrol,diesel, tar and bitumen. These substanceswill not mix or dissolve in water but will tendto float on the top of the water and form ashiny layer.

Many solid chemicals that dissolve in watermay become solid again in the future. Thiswill be due to small changes in the water’schemical make-up. It is common forpollution released into water to become partof the sandy riverbed. This sand or silt is

referred to as the river sediments.Polluting chemicals may be

released slowly from thesediments for many yearsfollowing a pollution incident.This means a river or lochmay remain polluted for along time after a factorystops discharging effluent.

How could water pollutionaffect me?

For water pollution to affect humanhealth, humans must come into contactwith the pollution. This can occurthrough drinking polluted water orthrough dermal (skin) contact. Somepolluting chemicals may evaporate fromthe water and be inhaled (breathed in) byhumans close to the water.

Read the Health FAQs to find out whathappens once the polluting chemicalshave reached the human body.

Finding Out More

What’s Going On Inthe Factory?!At first sight, factories oftenseem mysterious places.What’s going on inside?

A basic knowledge of the industrial processesthat your local factory uses to make itsproduct can really help you understandwhere the pollution is coming from.

The easiest way to find out about how thefactory works may be to ask the companyitself. You could write or visit in personexplaining who you are and what you wantto know. Take notes and ask for the contactdetails of the person you speak to. If youfind the company is unresponsive or has notprovided enough information you may look toSEPA for advice.

How SEPA Can HelpSEPA have lots of information on everyfactory in Scotland in their office libraries,called public registers. Every factory’s PPCapplication, permit and environmentalmonitoring data are available to look at andcopy.

You can find out how the factory makes itsproduct, its expected environmental andhealth impacts, how much waste it hasreleased to the environment and importantlyhow much waste it’s allowed to release.

Your Visit to the Public RegisterThis can be a bit daunting but don’t worry!This section will tell you what to expect andwhat to look for. Remember the publicregisters hold the factory’s PPC applicationwith a description of what processes it usesto make its product, the factory’s permitfrom SEPA to release a set amount of wasteand the pollution monitoring information thathas been collected in the past.

You don’t need to make an appointment butphoning up beforehand means you can checkthe files exist at that office and find a quiettime to visit. In the register the files will bebrought to you and you’ll be left to look atthem yourself.

4. The Action FAQs

Where are the Registries?They’re in Aberdeen, Edinburgh,Perth, Stirling, East Kilbride andDingwall and all are open 9.30am to4.30pm, Monday to Friday. Your localregister will hold the information onyour local industry. Your local officeaddress and phone number will beunder SEPA in the phonebook.

If you can’t visit a Public Register youcan request SEPA to email or postyou the information you need. If yourequest lots of pages SEPA maycharge you for this service but oftenit will be free. The information isavailable under the Freedom ofInformation Act 2002 andEnvironmental InformationRegulations 2004.

• Find out more from the ScottishInformation Commissioner:www.itspublicknowledge.info orphone 01334 464610.

Understanding the FilesThere will be a large volume of paperorganised with the most recent files at thefront and older ones at the back. You mayphotocopy anything using the register’smachine. The PPC application will be at theback of the folders. In front of this will besome letters followed by the permitdocument. The permit document defineshow much pollution that factory may emit bylaw. In front of all this will be anymonitoring data and amendments to thepermit. By comparing the permit and itsamendments with the monitoring data youcan see if the factory is breaking the law andreleasing more pollutants than they areallowed.

For Part A PPC application forms, Chapter B4contains the environmental impact andhuman health effect assessment and ChapterF10 contains a useful non-technical summaryof every section written for easyunderstanding. Part B factories are lesspolluting but if there is still a pollutionproblem you can look at their files.

Help from an Environmental ProtectionOfficer is available but you will have to askfor it. If you get stuck don’t feel shy to ask -in our experience all the staff are verycooperative. Explain who you are and whyyou’re there in order to best get theinformation your looking for.

Doing Your Bit

Industry can damage our health and theenvironment but it’s often the millions ofpeople using household chemicals, wastingenergy and creating unnecessary rubbishwho create the worst pollution.

Here are a few tips for your household:

• Use less cleaning chemicals, or evenbetter, eco-friendly alternatives.

• Reduce the rubbish you create whenbuying food and other products bychoosing those with less packaging.

• Switching to a green energy companywill create a healthier environment foreveryone.

• Recycling means less energy is usedcreating new products and why notstart composting the veggie peelings athome.

Ideal Bite offer easy eco-living tips for realpeople leading busy lives.

www.idealbite.com

What next?• Now you have learnt a bit more

about the industry and know whatpollutants are being released youcan have a look at the Health FAQsand SEPA Substance Informationfor more information on the healtheffects of the specific pollutants.

• If you are confused by sometechnical terms the websiteWikipedia is a good place to look.This page on industrial processeshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Industrial_process has explanations andlinks to more information.

• Read on for how to set up a GoodNeighbour Argeement or campaignsuccesfully to get results.

Good NeighbourAgreements

Good Neighbour Agreements (GNAs) are oneway in which communities and a companycan work together to improve upon the rulesand regulations in law. GNAs have beenused successfully in the USA for many yearsand in 2000 the first in Britain was signedbetween Douglas Community and anincinerator operator, Dundee EnergyRecycling Ltd. Under the Planning Etc(Scotland) Act developers will be encouragedto set up a GNA with the local community

GNAs are a signed agreement between thecompany and the community. As a minimumthe basic agreement should include thefollowing, but could be much more:

• Community decisions are made atpublic meetings, community groups oreven local ballot but without thecompany’s influence.

• The GNA sets standards higher thanthe ones in law and can cover issuesthat are not in the law, like theconsideration of school opening andclosing times when planning truckdeliveries.

• The GNA is not a fixed document butcan be easily improved in the future byannual review or as problems arise.

• The community must be able to takeaction if the company does not followthe agreed GNA. Examples of actioninclude bad press, boycott, protest andindustrial action.

• Experts like scientists, engineers orlawyers that help the community musthave the right to attend meetings.

• GNAs must be open to all thoseaffected by the companies activities

Other examples of what could be includedare the right to visit the factory or industrywith a SEPA representative, easy access toenvironmental monitoring information at alocal library, consultation on the accidentemergency plans, a community benefitsfund, good employment opportunities forlocal people, better monitoring and areduction in emissions.

To set up an agreement first look into whatthe company is required to do under itsplanning consent and PPC permit conditions.You as a community can then decide whatextra you want to ask of the company. Youcould ask your local Councillor or a tradeunion representative to approach theOperational Manager, Chief Executive orBoard of Directors for a meeting. If thecompany refuse to agree to a meeting, pointout the benefits of improved relations andpublic image, and if they still don’t agreecontact the local paper and give them somebad press.

Further Action ReadingGood Neighbour Agreements:

www.foe-scotland.org.uk/nation/good_neighbour.pdf

Complaints toCampaigning – 3 Step

Community Guide

Why get involved?Industrial pollution can have long-termhealth effects on you, your children, theenvironment and others living around you.It’s easy to assume that the authorities areaware of the problem but you could bewrong. If you haven’t complained, chancesare, no one else has either and theauthorities need those complaints to justifyintervention. The number of complaints alsomakes a big difference; so don’t just rely onothers to do it. Your voice counts!

Results don’t always come easy. Use thefollowing steps to guide your course ofaction. Alternatively, just dip in for tips andideas and tailor your own plan.

Complaints that get resultsComplain to the right personYou can phone SEPA’s 24-hour PollutionHotline on 0800 80 70 60 if you suspectthere’s been a pollution incident. If you’reworried about the long-term effects ofindustries you may wish to contact yourlocal SEPA office or the environmentalhealth department of your council.

Prepare & record your complaintGather a few facts before you make thatcall (in fact, written complaints are moreeffective). What is the problem? Where is itcoming from? When and how often is ithappening? How bad is it? Ask the authoritywhat they are going to DO about it? Make anote of whom you are speaking to (or keepcopy of your letter) and note the date andactions they say they will take (you mayneed this later…).

Demand to be kept informedThis doesn’t come naturally to allauthorities and it’s easy to assume that nonews means nothing is happening. Askingfor updates on the progress of yourcomplaint helps establish a dialogue andgives everyone a better understanding ofthe problem. It will also help you furtherdown the line if you’re still unhappy withthe results.

Following up complaintsFind out what’s been going onIf the problem isn’t resolved, don’t hesitateto get back to the authority to ask why theycan’t (or haven’t) fixed the problem(preferably get this in writing). Perhapsthey’ve looked into the matter and justhaven’t let you know. Also, reminding themthe problem is still ongoing may spur theminto action. There can be a whole host ofreasons why complaints are not resolved,e.g. legal difficulties or lack of resources. Itmay be that the authority just doesn’t thinkthe matter is serious enough.

Arm yourself with the factsHave a look at the Finding Out More sectionfor some helpful advice on getting moreinformation from the factory and SEPA. Useour Law FAQs to check the authority hasperformed all it’s legal duties and used allrelevant powers. Learn more about theissue with help from our Science FAQssection.

Now, get back to the authority andargue your caseIf you think the authority hasn’t done itsjob properly, use their ‘complaintsprocedure’ to get someone ‘higher up’ tolook at the problem.

Starting a campaignIf your letters and phone calls of complaintare not being listened to and there are stillreasonable grounds to believe you are beingaffected by pollution from your local factoryyou may decide to start a public campaign.This will involve you, local residents,councillors, newspapers and maybe yourMembers of Parliament and can be a greatway to achieve a result.

Friends of the Earth (England, Wales and N.Ireland) have produced a Polluting FactoryCampaign Guidewww.foe.co.uk/resource/reports/polluting_factory_campaign_guide.pdf that gives greatadvice and help with running a successfulcampaign. The law has changed since thisguide was written so ignore the sections onregulation (Sections 4-9) and any othermention of the law. Read our PPC LawFAQs for up to date information relevant toScotland.

The last word

Hopefully this FAQ-sheet has been useful. You should nowfeel more willing to speak to and work with the people,authorities and companies that affect you and yourcommunity’s life. Go for it!

If you have more questions about factories or industrialpollution in Scotland get in touch with Friends of the EarthScotland. Our contact details are below.

We would also like to hear your feedback or comments tohelp us improve in the future.

Friends of the Earth Scotland, Lamb’s House, Burgess Street, Edinburgh EH6 6RD

Tel: 0131 554 9977 Email: info@foe-scotland.org.uk Web: www.foe-scotland.org.uk

Scottish charity: SC003442. Printed on 80% recycled post-consumer waste. July 2007

Working with people for a healthy environment. Supported by Sylvia Aitken Charitable Trust