Poultry company fined for ammonia leak

UK: A County Fermanagh poultry company has been fined £2,000 after an ammonia refrigeration leak from its premises polluted a local river.

Western Brand Poultry Products (NI) Ltd of Lisnaskea pleaded guilty to under Article 7 (1) (a) of the Water (Northern Ireland) Order 1999. In addition to the fine, the company had to pay £28 court costs and £15 Offenders Levy plus £3,949.70 fish restocking costs.

Enniskillen Magistrates’ Court heard that on 10 July 2013 the Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA) investigated a fish kill in the Moorlough River near Lisnaskea. The source of this fish kill was traced upstream to the premises of Western Brand Poultry Products (NI) Ltd, where it was found that there had been a leak of ammonia from a refrigeration plant.

It was subsequently found that 3km of river had been affected, with 2,760 dead adult fish plus several thousand more dead juvenile fish.