Ten people were arrested and taken for questioning by the Environment Agency’s (EA’s) National Environmental Crime Teams (NECT) this week after the EA conducted its ‘largest ever’ UK hazardous waste raid at the Churngold Recycling site in Avonmouth, Bristol.

Sixty EA investigators conducted a raid at ‘several sites’ in Avonmouth alongside Avon and Somerset police as part of a ‘major’ investigation into the ‘suspected illegal treatment, dumping and trading of hazardous waste’ including heavy metals and asbestos.

The company, based on St Andrews Road and part of the Churngold Group that comprises recycling, remediation, surfacing, construction and building services, has voiced surprise and concern at the allegations made against it.

“Churngold Recycling has been engaged in a technical dispute with the Environment Agency for several months concerning the categorisation of material as a product or a waste”, said a spokesperson for the company.

“The discussions are very complex and our legal team has been actively engaged to help resolve the issue. We are co-operating fully with both the police and the Environment Agency.

“We regard the actions taken by the Environment Agency over the last few days as astonishing and will be defending our position and reputation extremely robustly.

“All other Churngold companies remain unaffected and it is business as usual.”

According to the EA, police were deployed with EA staff to ‘make arrests, gain access to properties and assist with collecting evidence’.

All 10 people arrested have now been released on conditional bail until January 2013, pending further enquiries.

Operation Durable

In a statement released by the Environment Agency, Andy Higham, Head of the NECT, said: “The Environment Agency targets gravely negligent organisations and organised criminals who risk damaging heath, livelihoods and the environment.

“Following a covert Environment Agency investigation we worked with police to successfully bring in suspects. We take waste crime extremely seriously. This is a live and complex investigation.”

The ongoing ‘Operation Durable’ is investigating suspected toxic waste offences by the Churngold Group and its senior management and directors. Due to the nature of the waste (as yet unspecified), the Health Protection Agency (HPA) has also been brought in to the investigations, to assess if there is any risk to public health.

This investigation is expected to take ‘many more months’ to complete.

Dr Isabel Oliver, Regional Director of Health Protection Agency South West, said: “The Health Protection Agency has been supporting the Environment Agency investigation into an industrial site in Avonmouth, over recent weeks. As further information and data become available from the EA, other partners and the company involved, we will consider any potential risk to public health and provide relevant health advice where we can.”

According to the EA, due to the ‘unprecedented scale of the investigation’, several specialist Environment Agency crime staff from across England and Wales have been brought in to support the investigation.

The Environment Agency teams will now be conducting interviews, undertaking searches and analysing any evidence collected, as well as investigating claims that there may be other illegally operating sites.

Anyone with further knowledge of these alleged waste crimes is asked to contact CrimeStoppers on 0800 555 111.