SERIOUS DISCOLORATION OF THE NANT-Y-DRESGLEN

The Welsh Assembly has taken over responsibility for testing the water on the Epynt. The rivers which run off the Epynt remain the responsibility of the Environment Agency (EA), but in spite of assurances from Sue Essex, the Environment Minister at the Assembly, that testing of the rivers on a routine basis is being undertaken by the EA, no results have been seen by the Epynt Action Group. It is therefore very important that those people close to the rivers running from the Epynt remain vigilant and report any discoloration or smell to the EA using the following number – 0800 807060. The EA is required to log all calls on this number and to take appropriate action. Any calls put through to the EA should be notified to the Epynt Action group on 01874 636107 so that any action taken by the EA can be monitored. There was a recent incident on the Nant-y-Dresglen (runs through the forestry from the burn site) which turned an odd colour although the Afon Gwydderig into which the Nant-y-Dressglen runs was running crystal clear at the time (last Wednesday the 15th August) – pictures of the incident are on IMAGES section of this site. Water from the stream has been sent for analysis by a private company and may be sent on to the EA for further testing. The area was inspected by the Epynt Action Group for any road works which might have caused the discoloration but there was nothing obvious. The Action Group is worried that with the recent heavy rainfall it may have come from an overflow of the lagoons on the burn site which were used to dowse ash.

IMAGES OF THE RIVER DISCOLORATION - click here

SITE MONITOR'S REPORT
Friday 17 August 2001 The Epynt Action Group monitor was accompanied by Mr Daniel Davies, Welsh Assembly representative, who was visiting the site for the first time. Assembly representatives accompanying our monitor are mainly Welsh Office workers who are normally employed to count animals for subsidy purposes.

BURIAL SITE

Wet and sodden, bones and plastic lining showing throughout. Borehole 6 still unrepaired. Other boreholes capped. No pump on borehole No. 2 (which was the original borehole which showed contamination and which was the most contaminated in the Environment Agency report) in spite of heavy rain. (The Environment Agency told us they had removed the pump because the borehole was dry during the dry weather conditions!) Monitor noticed evidence of heavy vehicles having been up on the site and holes dug by foxes had been filled in. Bones of carcasses previously noted could not be found. Slight smell of decomposed material throughout the site.

Greyhound workers were washing down the main road which runs alongside the site and tarring and repairing of road continues. (Planned rally was cancelled.)

BURN SITE

Greyhound workers not working on site. They were in the cabins waiting for transport to take them off site. There was nobody available to answer any questions our monitor or Davies might have.

Most of the ash has been removed but the burial pit contents have been mixed with soil, dowsed (by Greyhound and by the recent very heavy rains)and are heaped up and giving off a very strong smell of rotting material. The ground surface is like a bog and our monitor found herself sinking three quarters of the way up her wellington boots. The lagoons and French drains used for holding recycled ash water are still in place and had water in them. (Where did any excess water go during the heavy rains?) Our monitor enquired as to whether they would be removed or left as drainage for the planned runway being built for the army as she felt they should be removed for fear of contamination from the ash. However the question arises as to whether a drainage system should now be put in place in order to collect polluted ground and surface water so that it can be taken off site before entering the main rivers.

Where the pyres were burning they are removing 100 mm (4") of soil so as to remove any contamination! Where the ash was spread out to cool they are scraping the surface of ash so as to reveal red clay below.

On the top soil heaped up at the side of the site two surveyors cameras were in position and the site area had been pegged where pyres were for levelling according to Davies but he did not know why. A Greyhound worker suddenly appeared on site from a cabin and our Monitor asked him for the reason. He didn't give a reason but said that Welsh Assembly members were visiting the site on Monday, 20 August.

All ash-removing lorries have stopped working today. The reason given by the Greyhound worker was that they had run out of containers and there was a backlog at the other end. This appeared to happen only today.

WE REGRET THAT NO SITE MONITOR'S REPORT IS AVAILABLE FOR FRIDAY, 3 AUGUST, 2001

Our monitor had arranged with Glyn Davies, AM, Chairman of the Rural Affairs Committee at the National Assembly of Wales, to accompany her on her weekly visit to the Epynt. However, on their arrival permission was refused for Mr Davies to go onto the Epynt site because prior arrangements for the visit had not been arranged and for health and safety reasons. Our monitor was surprised by this because Mr Davies had issued a press release stating that he was to visit the site which was published by the Western Mail and appeared on Teletext. The visit was arranged following the monitor's expression of concern to him of carcasses being dug up by foxes from the aborted and filled in burial pit and the lack of published results of stream monitoring which, according to Environment Minister Sue Essex, was undertaken by the National Assembly. The Epynt Action Group, with very limited resources, has arranged and paid for independent testing of the relevant streams which show a disturbingly high level of ammonia following heavy rain. In the case of the aborted burial pit the Epynt Action Group is concerned because their monitor was excluded from visiting the site at the very time that the pit was filled in.

As predicted, heavy rain is now falling on the Epynt and removal of the ash has virtually stopped compared with the promise of 30 loads a day being removed over a period of 8 weeks. During the early procedures for cooling the ash a full lining was put in place to prevent seepage of water from the dowsing of the ash. Subsequently the procedure was changed and the ash was put directly onto hardstanding. The Action Group is concerned in case seepage is now occurring during this very wet weather.

The reason given for not allowing Glyn Davies to go on site, namely health and safety, raises questions about the health and safety of all those who have worked on the site from the beginning without the fully enclosed protective head gear now being used by those people in close contact with the ash. It also raises the question of the health and safety of those who were enveloped in smoke from the pyres during intense burning for the whole month of April.

SITE MONITOR'S REPORT
Friday 27 July 2001

The Site Monitor visited the Epynt site between 1.30 pm and 4.30 pm and was accompanied by Andrew King, National Assembly representative.

BURIAL SITE

No lids yet on sump hole or damaged borehole (No. 6). A council road sign has been put by sump hole to stop people falling in. King said that sump hole did originally have a manhole cover which he said was stolen (with all that security!) Our present monitor who has been visiting the site since May has never seen a manhole cover there. Our monitor was told that delay is due to dispute between Morgan and Greyhound over whose responsibility it is to provide the manhole cover for the sump hole. Another carcass skull was discovered which had been dug out by foxes. King said it was a sheep carcass but our Monitor thought that the molars were rather large for a sheep. The ground cover is slowly germinating. Monitor noticed wet patches in the soil. King said that this was due to rainfall (in spite of the fact that there has been very little rain recently). Monitor wonders whether it is a spring rising to the surface because the soil was soaked through. Thoughout the rest of the site the soil is drying out and more pieces of plastic are showing through.

BURN SITE

Our monitor discovered that before container vehicles can enter the burn site for loading of ash to be taken away, they have to go through certain procedures. At Church Hill by Llewel drivers are asked to sign a declaration with regard to the dangers of going onto MOD land. After that point they are not allowed to leave their lorries. If they do so it is at their own risk. On arrival at the burn site they are introduced to the Greyhound's Health and Safety conditions. Gulf, who appear to be handling the ash, call for them to come onto site when they are ready. They pass the Greyhound workers who are still dowsing the burning pyres (wearing fully enclosed helmets but our monitor noticed that some had their visors up and their suits open). When the drivers arrive at the ash loading position their back doors are opened for them. Inside the container there is a liner made from a very strong material which looks similar to mail bags. This is hooked up at the back and sides and open at the front to allow loading of ash into the liner. Two miniature JCBs with telescopic boom and a bucket attached load the ash into the lining. While that is going on two tele-hoists are dowsing with a pressure washer. However when our monitor arrived on site only one of these was being manned. The other one had been tied to the cradle and sprinkling from that one was going everywhere until a man was called over to operate it. Our monitor mentioned that a lot more water would be used if they were using that procedure. She was informed that this should not have been happening and so it was remedied immediately. A hymac operates on top of the ash pile gathering it back to make it easier for the bucket to scoop the loads. Slurry tanker supplies water to the pressure washers used for dowsing. The whole area is dowsed continuously. The men dowsing the ash wore fully enclosed helmets and protective clothing. The drivers of the JCBs wore open helmets, masks and suits and the tele-hoist drivers in their cabs wore open helmets without masks and suits. Whilst Monitor was observing the operation she noticed one tele-hoist driver putting pieces of railway sleepers in the cradle. He extended the boom to full length in the air and then lowered it. He then threw the sleepers onto the ash. While the boom as suspended in the air a man approached him from the slurry tanker and he was not wearing a safety helmet or mask. In fact our monitor noticed two men on site without a helmet or mask on who were in close proximity to the ash and machinery. Our monitor mentioned this to King. He said that Greyhound Health and Safety had already warned these people and that if they didn't comply they would be sent off site. Two men, wearing fully enclosed helmets, measured the temperature of the ash once it was loaded. This was recorded and a slip containing this information was presented to the driver at a later stage.

The highest temperature reading has been 34.93 centigrade, lowest temperature was 22 degrees centigrade. Average weight of loads has been between 10 and 20 tons. On the first day there had been some problems as the size of the bucket was too large for the container so only 4 loads were dispatched. However, on the second day it was up to 9 loads and on the third day there were 9 loads. They aim to dispatch 30 loads on Monday, 30 July. After a container is loaded with ash the lining is folded, tied and taped up. Our monitor noticed damage on tail end of lining she was observing being prepared for dispatch. This was quickly repaired by use of extra lining. She noticed there was plenty of spare lining available for repair jobs. She did, however, notice that the two men sealing up the lining were not wearing gloves. Also, the young lad who had been standing inside the container had his visor up most of the time and our monitor noticed him rubbing his nose, mouth and eyes. After the ash is secure within the lining inside the container, the back door is sealed and coded for security. The lorry moves on to be washed down with pressure washers using disinfectant. Our monitor nocied that one of the men had his white overalls open. The lorry then goes through security gates, driver comes out of cab and checks his wagon for an defects (punctures, damaged lights, brakes, etc) because he has to sign papers of responsibilty for the load once he leaves the site. Monitor observed that he had ticked box confirming he had a waste control certificate (these are provided by the Environment Agency and have to be applied for every 3 years). Document includes container number, temperature of ash, time of departure and sealed bolt security number for the container, and the fact that the lorry has been disinfected. Our monitor was informed that disinfecting has to take place because many of these workers have come from clean-up operations at foot and mouth infected farms.

King informed monitor that there are eight dust monitors from Carmathen County Council around the site. He did not know how many Powys had provided. Our monitor and King noticed that one of the dust monitors was in a position that would only collect dust from road and not from pyres.

In the next field, close to the pyres, a farmer was harvesting. However, our monitor was assured that pyres were safe. No results have yet been received with regard to testing of vegetation and streams. King told our monitor that the risk assessment of pyres had been made available to Powys and Carmarthenshire Councils. He said that it was not being made available to Epynt Action Group. Epynt Actoin Group will have to ask the Council to supply them.

Burial pit pyre is still burning, with quite a lot of smoke and a foul smell of decomposition. The third lagoon is being built and main drain continues to be extended to collect water from dowsing of all the pyres. The lower lagoon, which is catchment for water dowsing of pyre which is currently being loaded, is holding water. There is a smaller lagoon for holding disinfectant . The lagoons are lined. Our monitor notic ed a Volvo dumper leaving the site with a load of soil. King did not know where it was going. Although this soil was removed to the side of the site before burning commenced, she was still worried it might be contaminated from smoke particulates.

When the container lorries leave the site they head for the A40 via a forestry road. However, this creates a huge amount of dust in the present dry conditions as they come onto the A40. Monitor told King that she had infomed Carmarthenshire County Council of the dust and lack of visibility for traffic travelling along the A40 at Powys border. Our monitor considers that the forestry road could become hazardous if current dry conditions prevail and the number of lorries increases to 30 lorries per day. She feels that dowsing might help visibility and prevent rutting of road, because it is an untarred road. King agreed and said he would follow it up. She also mentioned it would be a good idea to post a policeman there to slow down the traffic on the A40 as the lorries come off the forestry road onto the A40. She was told that the police had no budget left for this. (Perhaps traffic lights could be installed which could be triggered by the lorries as they passed a certain place on the forestry road.)

After our monitor left the burn site Major Vaughan phoned while she was still on the ranges to confirm that four rallies would be taking place during August but that there would be no spectators allowed onto the Epynt from the surrounding main roads and that farmers if they see anyone should phone the police, army patrol or rally marshalls. Access for the drivers would be from the north end of the Epynt ranges. Tony Edwards, Chief VET, had sanctioned it. Our monitor and King discussed this and it was felt that if FMD continued to move closer that the rallies should be cancelled

King informed our monitor that a 4 inch depth of hardcore will be removed from under the original pyre site. Also a sample of soil would be taken to see how deep the water had gone where the dowsing had taken place.

SITE MONITOR'S REPORT
Friday 20 July 2001

The Site Monitor visited the Epynt site between 1.30 pm and 3.30 pm and was accompanied by Andrew King, National Assembly representative.

BURIAL SITE

The hard standing for army use has been finished. It has been rolled and fine chippings have been put on top. The damaged borehole, mentioned in previous reports, is still damaged and uncovered. It is still holding water but our monitor noticed no strong odour. The sump hole pipe has been reduced in length to make room for a concrete chamber of about 6 feet with steps inside to enable a person to enter the chamber for sampling.

King and our monitor whilst at the burial site noticed that something had been digging holes and a rib cage had been exposed as a result of this. The evidence of fox droppings indicated to our monitor that a fox or foxes had been present.

DIXIES CORNER

A lorry was loading up the sawdust delivered in error so that it could be taken off site. It is believed to be going to Cwrt-y-Gollen camp since the problems of Foot and Mouth are now occurring in the Crickhowell area.

BURN SITE

As usual the workmen stopped their work for lunch as our monitor and King approached the site. Masks or helmets with visors, white suits and gloves were being worn.

Pyre D – which was the experimental pyre – has been re-stacked and is now cool. Pyres E and F are still on earth bed, being dowsed down and are cooling down. Sleepers have now been removed from these two pyres and it is assumed that they are being burnt on the remaining burning pyres as the sleeper remains at the edge of the site are small in number. Carcass bones and fleeces were noticed on the remaining pyres.

The whole area was being prepared to take the rest of the pyres to be spread after cooling procedure. They are working on a third lagoon to be placed below Pyre I (which came from the burial site and which is still hot and smoking). Lagoon No. 2, situated beside pyres G and H, has been completed. Drains have been dug in the ash dowsing and cooling areas to take excess water from the ash. These drains run from the pyres to the main drain which runs parallel with the pyres and connects with the lagoons. Our monitor made enquiries of how much water was being used to dowse the pyres. King said he didn't know exactly but he understood they were using just the right amount to do the job safely and that they were keeping a log. He understood that the water is being taken from streams going out towards Tirabad but, again, he didn't have exact details.

There are five slurry tankers on site, which have a capacity of approximately 300 gallons each, and they are being used all day to spray the centre of the pyres to cool them before spreading and moving the ash to the cooling areas. The 6 tele-handlers (front end loaders) on site are being manned by men working in teams of 2 who are using hand held pressure washers to dowse down the ash whilst standing in cages on the extended booms.

There is far more ash present than we had thought – approximately 18-20,000 tons. King informed our monitor that the ash will be moved in sealed containers on flat beds. Local hauliers have been subcontracted by Moores who are co-ordinating the haulage of ash throughout the UK. It will be taken to a fully engineered landfill site where the ash will be weighed and tipped. They are hoping that an average load will be 20 tons. Moores are employed by DEFRA. There was a risk assessment due back from Moores today (Friday) and no ash will be removed until agreed by all parties concerned. They are Environment Agency, Welsh Assembly, Greyhound and the army. Halcrows were meeting Forestry Enterprise at 1.30 today (Friday) to inspect the forest route which will be used to take the ash off site. They did not want to use the range roads because work was being carried out tarring the roads. It is understood that a rally is planned for a forthnight's time so the range roads will be in use . King said that results of pyre samples sent to Southampton on 11 July have not yet been received.

He containers, which are owned by Gulf Shipping, will arrive on site on Monday, 23 July. It is doubtful that any ash will leave on Monday as the road leading to the forestry is not yet ready to take the heavy loads. Greyhound workers are cooling the pyres, Moores are arranging haulage and loading of ash, Halcrows have a resident engineer on site to supervise and is employed directly by DEFRA. Our monitor was informed that Morgan Borehole Contractors from Presteigne are still sampling water twice a week. Monitor was also informed by King that they are taking stream samples from Nant-y-Gleslyn, on the road between the burial site and Dixies Corner along the forestry edge, close to the bridge. King was informed that there had been another sampling point in this area but it had dried out.

Gordon Smith from the National Assembly, who accompanied our monitor last week, arrived on site with Tony Joss, Disposal Officer/FMD Operations at the Welsh Assembly Cardiff and Mike Tass of DEFRA London. King informed our monitor that Tass is responsible for inspecting ash before removal, checking for dust particles, "remote possibility of BSE prions" and other health and safety concerns.

Our monitor remained on site until the workmen returned from lunch. It was noticed that all wore their masks or helmets but that the foreman and one other did not have their visors pulled down on the fully enclosed air conditioned helmets they were using. She noticed that when they were spraying water onto the ash the visors got covered in grime so they may have had problems with visibility.

SITE MONITOR'S REPORT
Friday 13 July 2001

The Site Monitor visited the site between 1.30 pm and 3.15 pm and was accompanied by Gordon Smith, National Assembly representative.

BURIAL SITE

There appeared to be no change since the last visit - see report 6 July. Smith advised that the site would eventually be used by the army as a landing pad for parachutists. He said that the roadway onto the site will be used by vehicles dropping off and collecting men and equipment.

DIXIES CORNER

The sawdust delivered in error is still in the yard but Smith said it would shortly be removed so that the yard could be handed back to the army. Originally the handback date was 1 July. This had obviously now been extended.

BURN SITE

Smith informed our monitor that nobody is allowed on the burn site without a mask due to dangerous particulates from ash.

Samples have been taken a few days ago from all the pyres (the whole is divided up into five separate pyres). Smith thought that the samples were being sent to Southampton. Our monitor asked Smith what they were testing for but he was unable to give a response. He said these questions had to be put to an engineer.

LOWER PYRE

The whole of the lower pyre (known as pyre D) is now flattened out in order to cool off and is lying on the cooling pad. As a result of this experiment it has been decided that the cooling pad method is no longer needed. Lower lagoon is almost dry with only 2-3 inches of rainwater in it.

Work has commenced on Pyre E. It had been dowsed down first and is being extended out, as with pyre D, using teeth of Hymac bucket - about a quarter of it has been flattened straight onto the relatively flat hard standing with no hardcore covered lining (which had been used in the cooling pad method in the experiment above). A ditch is to be inserted about 35 metres away from the pyre. which will be 3 ft deep 18 " wide, which will be double lined with coarse plastic liner and filled with hardcore - our monitor was informed that this is called a "French Drain". The drain will be connected to lagoons inserted the whole length of these pyres to catch storm water and run-off from dowsing down procedure although Smith said they are only using an amount of water they expect will evaporate with the heat of the pyre. Sleepers and stones were still visible on this pyre.

As regards pyres G, and H, as already mentioned, sampling has been done but they are not yet being prepared for moving. Pyre I ,which is from the burial pit, is still hot and smoking.

Roadwork is being carried out on route 60. Greyhound workers, who were taking lunch while the inspection was taking place, returned to work as our monitor was leaving. As per last week, they are wearing gloves, white suits and face masks.

SITE MONITOR’S REPORT Friday 6 July 2001

The Site Monitor visited the site between 1.30 pm and 3.25 pm and was accompanied by Andrew King, National Assembly representative.

BURIAL SITE

They inspected the whole aborted burial site area where vegetation is re-rooting and the site is already turning green due to damp and boggy conditions. The sump hole remains uncovered, presumably for continued testing of water, and the borehole which was damaged by Greyhound contractors is still damaged and uncovered. Greyhound workers were repairing damaged road verge with soil and turf.

DIXIES CORNER

King had made enquiries about the snowflake sawdust which had been delivered to the site last week and was told that it had been delivered there in error and was for possible welfare culls. It would remain stored on the Epynt for the timebeing or until it was needed.

BURN SITE

On arrival at the burn site King and our monitor were issued with white suits and our monitor was also issued with an expensive mask which Security told her to keep for future visits. The whole length of the pyre was steaming, giving out smoke and heat in places.

LOWER PYRE

Work has commenced on the lower pyre to cool it and prepare it for removal. King informed our monitor that down the centre of the pyre it was being saturated with water by Greyhound workers in cradles attached to bobcats and JCB machinery using pressure washers to reduce dust particles. The pyre is then being spread outwards to cool it using the teeth of a Hymac bucket. The ash is then moved approximately 35 metres and levelled out onto a bed of hardcore of about 20 yards x 20 yards, which is 18" deep on top of a plastic liner. The ash is spread to a depth of 2 ft to cool and is soaked. No carcasses were visible on the cooling pad, large sleeper remains were being removed, leaving smaller pieces up to about 2 ft. The ash is like coke or black slag in appearance.

LAGOON

The lagoon is holding the water from the spraying which is recycled for the cooling procedure. Our monitor noticed a tidal mark on the plastic liner which was close to the surface of the water. King informed our monitor that water was being pumped from the surrounding streams rather than obtaining water from the camp because of the distance involved and the amount of water required. Greyhound workers, who were taking lunch while the inspection was taking place, returned to work as our monitor was leaving. She noticed they were now wearing gloves, white suits and face masks. The men in the cradles and the bank men were wearing fully enclosed helmets with charcoal filters and battery fed packs fitted to their belts to work air conditioning fan. An engineer from Civil engineering company, Halcrow, in Cardiff is now in charge of operations and Greyhound are now working to his instructions and under his supervision. King said that borehole contractors, Morgan, are now sampling streams and boreholes twice a week.