Air quality, clean air proposals and contaminated land
This page was last updated on 18 Nov 2024
Rotherham has been legally mandated to ensure that areas that have been identified as not legally compliant with air quality limits are brought into compliance by 2021.
The Council has identified part of the A629 Wortley Road which is currently not compliant, between the roundabout at Wilton Gardens and Bradgate Lane (on the hill where the terraced properties are). The Council is therefore considering what action might be taken to improve air quality at this location and is currently consulting on a proposal to ban HGVs on the northbound side of the road (from the town centre to the motorway).
As part of this work, a wider review of traffic movements in the area has been undertaken and the Council plans to introduce a permanent weight restriction on the section of Droppingwell Road between the site entrance and Blackburn Road (to the south).
The Council has looked at any potential impact of the operation of the site itself on air quality in the future and concluded that it is unlikely that vehicles movements, either on the site or off it, pose a risk to health in terms of air quality.
- Nitrogen dioxide (NOx) – National air quality standards deem levels below 40ug/m3 as safe. The levels of nitrogen dioxide on Droppingwell Road (near to the M1) and at the junction of Droppingwell Road and Wortley Road are well below this limit despite significant numbers of vehicles using these roads every day. It is unlikely that the increase in vehicles associated with Droppingwell Tip re-opening will lead to the national standard being breached, given many more vehicles than that currently use Wortley Road itself.
- Silica dust - Exposure limits for silica dust only apply to close occupational exposure, in which case the limit for silica dust is 0.1mg/m3. Only a small fraction of breathable dust is silica. The highest total breathable dust level measured anywhere across the whole of Rotherham (even our most industrial areas) is only around one-fifth of the silica dust workplace exposure limit. The likelihood of any significant exposure to silica from the site is therefore negligible, even with increased vehicle movements. Excessive dust coming from operations on the site would be regulated by the Environment Agency through the environmental permit.
Contaminated land
The Council has a statutory duty under the Environmental Protection Act 1990 to identify and inspect its land for contamination and to maintain a register of contaminated land in its area.
The framework governing contaminated land is set out within legislation and statutory guidance. The statutory guidance states that enforcing authorities should seek to use the regulatory framework where no appropriate alternative solution exists.
The legislation sets out that the Council’s duties do not apply where the issue is attributable to the operation of a regulated facility and enforcement action may be taken. The site is permitted and thus regulated by the Environment Agency it is therefore excluded under s.78YB of the Environmental Protection Act and as such any enforcement is a matter for the Environment Agency.
The Council has sought external Counsel advice on two previous occasions in respect of its duty under the contaminated land framework and remains of the view that the matter falls within the jurisdiction of the Environment Agency, thus the Council is unable to designate the land as contaminated.
The Council has recently obtained a third advice from Counsel having received a legal opinion from the Droppingwell Action Group and the Council remains of the view that it should not register this land as the control mechanism is through the permit and falls within the jurisdiction of the Environment Agency.
The information that the Council has states that the land is contaminated. The Council acknowledges that a report was prepared in 1990 by the Council’s Department for Environmental Health, this was in respect of samples taken from the Landfill site on the 23rd March 1990. The purpose of the report was to assess potential contamination at the landfill site by a process of selective sampling of the surface layer. The report did find the land to be contaminated in 1990 and this information has previously been provided to the Environment Agency in its capacity as the relevant enforcement agency. Some of the relevant contaminants are set out below:
- Lead 22500
- Cadmium 89
- Fluoride 10400
- Chromium 6961
Maximum amounts stated in mg/kg dry weight
View the Environmental Health Sample Report 1990.
If you have difficulty accessing or understanding this document, please contact GrangeLandfill@rotherham.gov.uk