Scotland’s environment watchdog is warning companies of the importance of ensuring the environmental risks their operations may have are explored and steps taken to prevent pollution, and that their staff are adequately trained to deal with any issues.

The message comes after Glen Catrine Bonded Warehouse Ltd was fined £12,000 at Ayr Sheriff Court for failing to prevent the spillage of 6,600 litres of whisky spirit, of which approximately 5,000 litres of 67% strength entered the River Ayr. The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) reported the matter to the Procurator Fiscal.

On 6 September 2011, a tanker delivery of 27,500 litres of whisky spirit was delivered to Glen Catrine Bonded Warehouse Limited’s site at Laigh Road, Catrine. The spirit was then pumped to one of the site’s external storage tanks by an operator opening the relevant valves via computer.

A member of staff later saw liquid spraying from one of the tanks, and it transpired that the spirit had been sent to a full tank rather than the empty one that was intended. The pumping was immediately stopped.

The bund surrounding the storage tanks, which is meant to contain any spills, was checked and it was discovered that a drain valve in the bund had been left open, which meant it had drained out to the River Ayr. When the liquid captured in the bund was recovered it was found to be the equivalent of almost 1,600 litres of spirit. This means that of the total lost from the delivery, approximately 5,000 litres had escaped.

David Wallace, SEPA’s reporting officer, said: “Glen Catrine Bonded Warehouse Limited’s site is more or less bounded on three sides by a loop of the River Ayr, so minimising the risk of pollution entering the water should be a top priority.

“While sending the spirit to the wrong tank appears to have been caused by human error, there were no contingency arrangements to prevent this kind of accident causing pollution. Although a system could have been installed to automatically open the correct valves to pick the correct tank it was not activated. In addition, although there were alarms to tell operators when the tanks were 80% full they were routinely filled above that level. Gauges and alarms to warn when the tanks were 92% full had not been connected to the control system.

“The bund around the storage tanks, which is designed to contain any spill, had a drain valve leading directly to the River Ayr. This had been left open after draining rainwater. The situation was further exacerbated by the absence of staff training for managing spills.

“Glen Catrine Bonded Warehouse Limited has now taken steps to correct these failings, but companies should not wait until there is a pollution incident before they take steps to prevent such an incident happening. SEPA officers are more than happy to provide advice on such matters, and help prevent an accident having wide reaching environmental, and financial, impacts.”