UK oil refinery broke toxic pollution limits dozens of times, documents reveal
Pollution was spilled into local rivers and protected sites, documents shared with the BBC suggest.
EET Fuels, previously known as Essar, operates the Stanlow oil refinery in Ellesmere Port, Cheshire, which processes 10 million tonnes of crude oil annually and contributes to 18% of the UK's road transport fuel. The refinery is permitted to discharge limited amounts of oil and chemicals into the air and waterways. However, documents obtained by investigative journalists reveal that between 2023 and 2024, the refinery exceeded permitted levels for chemical releases 58 times, breaching environmental law on multiple occasions.
These breaches involved toxic chemicals like cyanide, benzene, and heavy oils being released into local rivers and the Mersey Estuary, a Site of Special Scientific Interest home to endangered species. In one incident, oil leaked from the site after rainwater flowed over the containment area, contaminating groundwater. EET Fuels maintains that the oil spilled was small and localized, but the incident led to a significant public health risk, prompting the closure of local cockle beds for five weeks while water quality was tested.
The Environment Agency and Natural England are investigating the breaches, with the latter concluding that the impact of the pollution could extend far beyond the immediate site due to the dynamic nature of the river system.
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