TNT factory monitored over discharge

A factory in Somerset - the only explosives' manufacturer in the UK - will be monitored after traces of TNT waste were found in a nearby ditch and internationally protected reserve for birds.

The red water was discovered by a local dog-walker

A dog walker discovered red water being discharged near the River Huntspill from the Royal Ordnance Factory near Puriton last May.

Following a BBC investigation, the Environment Agency will measure the plant's discharge when it next makes TNT.

The river passes through a National Nature Reserve managed for English Nature by the Environment Agency, and out into the Parrot Estuary and Bridgwater Bay.

John Samuels, a freelance cameraman who found the red water, told the BBC: "I smelled a sweetish smell and followed the source of it and found there were some pipes pouring out a very deeply coloured red liquid into the ditch.

"I reported it on to the Environment Agency pollution report line. And the person I spoke to said - yes it came from the Royal Ordinance Factory."

We are dealing with quite substantial quantities of these toxic materials David Santilo Aston Greenpeace Research Labs

A sample of the water was passed to David Santilo, of Aston Greenpeace Research Labs at Exeter University, who tested a chemical it contained.

He said: "Comparing a spectrum figure print [a chemical finger print] from one of those chemicals to a standard spectrum for trinitrotoluene, TNT in its pure form, you can see there is a very close match.

"It's not going to explode in the water, but we do have the dissolved form of the chemical and that is toxic."

He added: "Red water is quite commonly recognized to be a hazardous waste and this is why we were particularly surprised to find this sort of waste being discharged to an open ditch.

"We've not been able to determine the precise concentration of TNT and all the other related chemicals but what we do know is that we are not dealing with trace contamination.

"We are dealing with quite substantial quantities of these toxic materials."

Dr Santilo tested the water for the BBC

The Environment Agency says the actual toxic concentration within the sample is very small: something like 99.9% water.

Tim Loveday, from the agency, added: "It's a relatively very low concentration occurring for a little period of the year.

"For instance, were this plant to run for longer in the year, we've talked to the company and they would - we'd expect them to - introduce a further clean-up process particularly to remove the red colouration and the sickly smell.

"We allow it to happen for a few weeks each year because we regard that to be acceptable."

English Nature

He added that a reed bed had been built near the explosives factory in 1996 in response to tighter regulations.

TNT discharge is not tolerated in the United States, but there are no safety limits for TNT discharge in the UK, and it is not a chemical that has to be monitored by law.

English Nature has also raised concerns.

Gwilyam Wren, from English Nature, told the BBC: "Bridgwater Bay is of course a national nature reserve and an internationally designated site for waders and other birds.

"We are, therefore, urging the Environment Agency to monitor this potentially hazardous substance. We are also concerned this substance is not on the UK list of chemicals that need to be monitored on a regular basis.

"Of course TNT is not produced all over the place. It is only produced here. So we are going to ask the Environment Agency to look at it on a local basis because it is essentially a local problem."

When TNT is next produced at Puriton, the Environment Agency will measure the discharge as it flows into the Parrot estuary.