Brofiscin Quarry, Groes Faen is a disused
limestone
Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...
quarry
A quarry is a type of open-pit mine in which dimension stone, rock, construction aggregate, riprap, sand, gravel, or slate is excavated from the ground. The operation of quarries is regulated in some jurisdictions to reduce their envi ...
in
Groes-faen
Groes-faen is a village approximately three miles south of Llantrisant in the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales. It is in the Historic counties of Wales, historic county of Glamorgan.
The village began as a hamlet (place), hamlet in the ...
, near
Llantrisant
Llantrisant (; "Parish of the Three Saints") is a town in the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf, within the historic county boundaries of Glamorgan, Wales, lying on the River Ely and the Afon Clun. The three saints of the town's name are SS ...
in
South Wales
South Wales ( cy, De Cymru) is a loosely defined region of Wales bordered by England to the east and mid Wales to the north. Generally considered to include the historic counties of Glamorgan and Monmouthshire, south Wales extends westwards ...
. It was used for about seven years for the dumping of toxic waste including
polychlorinated biphenyls
Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are highly carcinogenic chemical compounds, formerly used in industrial and consumer products, whose production was banned in the United States by the Toxic Substances Control Act of 1976, Toxic Substances Contro ...
(PCBs) and was capped in 2011. Some 72 000m
3 / 80 000 tonnes of material was dumped here. Prior to its remediation, ''The Guardian'' described the site as "one of the most contaminated places in Britain."
The level of pollution is such that it featured in an international conference discussing remediation of contaminated land. These events were described by ''The Ecologist'' magazine as "one of the biggest environmental crimes to have occurred in the UK". and the key witness at an Environmental Agency inquiry on 2006 ended up needing to live under police protection. The company using this disposal site also used the nearby
Maendy Quarry
Maendy Quarry is an abandoned stone quarry near Cardiff in South Wales that was subsequently used in the 1960s as a landfill site for industrial waste.
The site became infamous in the early 1970s when it became clear that toxic industrial waste h ...
.
Pollution
Brofiscin Quarry is privately owned and was leased to waste contractors for use as a
landfill
A landfill site, also known as a tip, dump, rubbish dump, garbage dump, or dumping ground, is a site for the disposal of waste materials. Landfill is the oldest and most common form of waste disposal, although the systematic burial of the waste ...
, as is common with spent quarries. It was used as a waste site from about 1965 to 1972 and accepted waste from
BP,
Veolia
Veolia Environnement S.A., branded as Veolia, is a French transnational company with activities in three main service and utility areas traditionally managed by public authorities – water management, waste management and energy services. It pr ...
, and
Monsanto
The Monsanto Company () was an American agrochemical and agricultural biotechnology corporation founded in 1901 and headquartered in Creve Coeur, Missouri. Monsanto's best known product is Roundup, a glyphosate-based herbicide, developed in th ...
.
[Staff, Wales Online. 17 Oct, 201]
Remedial work to start on quarry
/ref> A 2005 report by Environmental Agency Wales found that the quarry contained up to 75 toxic substances, including heavy metals
upright=1.2, Crystals of osmium, a heavy metal nearly twice as dense as lead">lead.html" ;"title="osmium, a heavy metal nearly twice as dense as lead">osmium, a heavy metal nearly twice as dense as lead
Heavy metals are generally defined as ...
, Agent Orange
Agent Orange is a chemical herbicide and defoliant, one of the "tactical use" Rainbow Herbicides. It was used by the U.S. military as part of its herbicidal warfare program, Operation Ranch Hand, during the Vietnam War from 1961 to 1971. It ...
, and polychlorinated biphenyls
Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are highly carcinogenic chemical compounds, formerly used in industrial and consumer products, whose production was banned in the United States by the Toxic Substances Control Act of 1976, Toxic Substances Contro ...
(PCBs).[BBC 15 June 201]
Brofiscin Quarry pollution at Groesfaen to be cleaned
/ref> Prior to its remediation, ''The Guardian'' described the site as "one of the most contaminated places in Britain."
The legislative frameworks prior to 1972 were not designed to deal with hazardous waste and were inadequate. This meant that the local planning department was ill-equipped when a request for planning permission was made in the late 1960's and consent was given. The Poisonous Waste Act 1972 was implemented due to other far smaller occurrences of dumping at other places in the UK.
Remediation and costs
In February 2011 ''The Ecologist'' and ''The Guardian'' reported that Monsanto had agreed to help with the costs of remediation, but did not accept responsibility for the pollution. A webpage at the Environmental Agency site put up at around that time states:
In 2011 Environment Agency Wales and the Rhondda Cynon Taf council announced that they had decided to place an engineered cap over the waste mass in the quarry and stated that the cost would be £1.5 million; previous estimates discussed in the media had been as high as £100 million, which Environment Agency Wales had dismissed. The site was cleared of vegetation and engineering work began in October 2011, and was completed in 2012.
On 14 July 2015, it was reported that Monsanto, BP, and Veolia had agreed to pay to contribute to the cleanup of the site, although they continue to deny liability.
The clean-up is incomplete containment, with a chemical smell still evident in boundary ditch and strong concerns remaining about neighbouring field. It has erroneously also been called Brofiscyn Quarry in an attempt to obfuscate its history.
Geology
It has been designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest
A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle of ...
due to the exposed Early Carboniferous
Early may refer to:
History
* The beginning or oldest part of a defined historical period, as opposed to middle or late periods, e.g.:
** Early Christianity
** Early modern Europe
Places in the United States
* Early, Iowa
* Early, Texas
* Early ...
geological formations on the site.
See also
*
References
{{coord, 51, 31, 20, N, 3, 20, 35, W, type:landmark, display=title
Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Rhondda Cynon Taf
Monsanto
Landfills in the United Kingdom