Boy, 5, takes quarry to court over life-shortening ‘poisoning’

Case will be heard at High Court in London this week

Rebecca Currie and her son Matthew with brother Denzel (Rebecca Currie and her son Mathew with brother Denzel)

The mother of a five-year-old boy is taking the regulator of a landfill site to court over health problems which she alleges could shorten his life.

Mathew Richards has grown up next to Walleys Quarry in Silverdale, Newcastle-under-Lyme, and, according to his mother Rebecca Currie, suffers from chest problems brought on by breathing in hydrogen sulphide (HS2) gas which she claims is being emitted from the site.

Ms Currie, who has been supported by the Stop the Stink campaign group, has said not enough is being done by the Environment Agency to regulate the activities of landfill operator Walleys Quarry Ltd, and as a result the family lodged an application for a judicial review of the Environment Agency’s regulatory decisions at the site, reported Stoke on Trent Live.

The 41-year-old mother said she hoped the case will result in the landfill being capped off, as well as HS2 emissions from the site being stopped.

The case is being funded through legal aid, and will be heard at the High Court in London on 18 and 19 August.

Professor Ian Sinha, a respiratory paediatrician at Alder Hey Children’s Hospital in Liverpool, has written a report in support of the case, in which he explains how the gas can have a particularly damaging impact on the health of young residents like Mathew.

The report also underlines the potential health impacts that the long-term exposure to relatively low levels of H2S can have on children.

Ms Currie explained: “We have the doctor’s report that says that Mathew’s life expectancy is being reduced by the landfill.”

She added: “It’s damaging his lungs, and it could be something that will affect him for the rest of his life if it isn’t sorted out soon.

“I don’t really know what our chances are of winning. As far as I’m concerned, this should be an open and shut case, but I know things aren’t going to be as simple as that. The case will take two days and there might not be a decision straight away, but the judge might give us an indication.”

More recently, the Environment Agency has been monitoring air quality at a number of locations near to Walleys Quarry following complaints from residents about the landfill site.

So far, action against the operator has resulted in the permanent and temporary capping of about half the site. An action plan to improve landfill gas management has also been put into place, this includes implementation of a number of gas collection wells.

Ms Currie does not however believe that these actions will make any significant difference to the levels of HS2.

She said: “The stink we have to put up with is horrific. It’s actually worse now knowing that it isn’t just a bad smell, it’s actually poisoning Mathew.

“The Environment Agency says that it’s doing all it can to sort out the problem, but nothing has changed since they’ve been taking action. Things haven’t improved at all.

“Hopefully, this case will result in inert material being placed on the landfill to cap it off. That’s the outcome we’re hoping for.”

In a statement the Environment Agency said that they did not “want the community to continue to suffer from impacts of odour from Walleys Quarry” and that they were doing as much as possible “to bring the odour under control.”

They explained: “We have been working in partnership with Public Health England, along with Staffordshire County Council and Newcastle under Lyme Borough Council since March to understand any risk that the site may pose and provide the right advice to the local community.

“The work we are requiring the operator to do is making a difference and producing some improvements that will significantly reduce the amount of landfill gas escaping from the site and reduce odour in the long-term. There is still a long way to go and we recognise that for residents at the moment it still smells, but hydrogen sulphide levels are reducing.

“We understand that many residents want the landfill closed. Walleys Quarry is an active landfill and closing it would not stop emissions from the site, and these emissions would still need to be managed.”

Meanwhile, the CEO of Walleys Quarry Ltd, Nigel Bowen, said in a statement that Walleys Quarry was going “everything that it within [their] power to help remedy the situation”.

He said: “We have every sympathy for the health of Mathew Richards, and the well-being of his family. Upon receiving the report by Dr Ian Sinha, we moved swiftly to seek independent medical opinion and will present the findings at the forthcoming judicial review hearing at the High Court later this month. In the meantime, we will be following the relevant processes and are not able to comment further at this time.

“We continue to assess and implement identified measures, for example capping and gas infrastructure works as part of the natural cycle of site operation,” he added.

Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council has served a statutory nuisance abatement notice to the landfill site, while the Environment Agency received 1,115 complaints between 2 and 8 August about odour being emitted from the landfill.