Unsafe water, burning eyes and kerosene slicks: residents demand answers on River

People near south Wales river were told to keep windows and doors shut after thousands of litres of kerosene from a GE Aerospace site got into the water Oily slicks of kerosene still appeared to be leaking into the River Taff this week, several days after a breach of thousands of litres was spotted by members of the public. The breach into the Welsh river was identified last Friday, after people reported strong chemical odours emanating from it. Natural Resources Wales (NRW) officers arrived on site soon afterwards to identify the source of the pollution and were assisted by the south Wales fire and rescue service, which placed absorbent mats and booms to contain as much kerosene as…

Health officials have told people to keep away from affected parts of the River Taff. Photograph: Jeremy Inglis/Alamy View image in fullscreen Health officials have told people to keep away from affected parts of the River Taff. Residents along the Taff were advised to keep windows and doors closed last week, after it emerged that thousands of litres of kerosene from a GE Aerospace site in Nantgarw, Rhondda Cynon Taf had entered the river.

Four kilometres (2.5 miles) of waterway were affected, according to NRW. View image in fullscreen NRW was unable to confirm what quantity of kerosene entered the river. Photograph: Natural Resources Wales GE Aerospace is a US multinational company that designs and builds military and commercial aircraft systems and engines.

Its site in south Wales is among the world’s largest maintenance, repair and overhaul facilities for commercial aircraft engines, employing more than 1,350 people. In 2017 GE Aerospace was the recipient of £5m in funding from the Welsh government, intended to support innovation and sustainability in the aerospace sector. Despite early estimates of a volume of about 25,000 litres of kerosene spilled, NRW was unable to confirm what quantity entered the river, and could not comment on possible enforcement action while its investigation was under way and it gathered information.

Public Health Wales advised that the community should avoid all contact with contaminated areas along the busy stretch of river, which runs parallel to many popular trails on both banks, including the Taff trail. People near the river had been complaining of sinus problems and headaches.

“Kerosene vapours may be mildly irritating to the respiratory system. Our current assessment is that people who can smell kerosene may experience temporary irritation, particularly if they are exposed for prolonged periods,” said the health body.

Sarah Llywelyn, who lives in a riverside home in Glan Y Llyn downstream from the GE Aerospace facility, was among those who reported the leak to NRW. “The smell was absolutely unbelievable.

My eyes burned as soon as I opened our door into the garden. I knew it must have been huge because of the smell, and it’s a fast-flowing river – it was essentially unsafe from the point of contamination to Cardiff Bay.

We moved here because of the river. What I want more than anything is for lessons to be learned.

This should never happen again.” A visit by the Guardian to the site found oily slicks still leaking into the Taff five days after the incident began. NRW believes that the pollution has now been stopped from entering the river.

An NRW spokesperson said: “Fuel that entered the drainage system before the leak was stopped by the operator could remain within parts of that network and whilst containment measures help reduce and capture pollution, they are not always able to separate all fuel from flowing water. Our work to investigate this incident and assess environmental impacts is ongoing.” Prof Steve Ormerod, from Cardiff University’s Water Research Institute, confirmed that the photos of the leaks appeared to show the kerosene still entering the waterway through the bunding (a secondary storage system, usually to catch overflows).

“The Taff has been recovering from its grossly polluted past,” he said. “So this incident is a potential setback to clean water species such as salmon, dippers and kingfishers that have been recolonising the river.

“Kerosene is a mixture of paraffins, naphthenes and benzene-like chemicals that risk direct toxicity to aquatic organisms, reductions in oxygen transfer across the water surface, and suffocation through impaired gill function in fishes or insects. Effects on feather waterproofing are also likely in the birds that have no choice but to enter the water to feed.