AROUND 200 litres of diesel have spilled into the River Gipping after an overflow from the Muntons factory at Stowmarket.
AROUND 200 litres of diesel have spilled into the River Gipping after an overflow from the Muntons factory at Stowmarket.
At 11.20pm yesterday an overflow of fuel entered a drain that leads to the river.
A compressor on site had been topped up at around 10pm and the siphon unit was not disconnected resulting in the excess fuel overflowing into the drain.
The alarm was raised by an employee and the Environment Agency was informed.
By 9.30am today, the diesel had got as far as Hawksmill, Needham Market.
Booms were placed across the river to halt and collect the diesel so it so it can be skimmed off.
A clean up operation is now underway.
Muntons environment manager Kit Wells said it was “extremely disappointing to have such a serious spillage on site.
He said: “Muntons are very proud to have the environmental standard ISO14001 which shows our concern for the environment and every member of staff has been trained to be aware of environmental risks and remedial action.”
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