River runs red after dye spillage

THE Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA) has confirmed that there was no fish kill as a result of a recent pollution incident on a tributary of the Ballymartin Water in Mallusk.

As this picture taken by a resident of Rogan Manor shows, the Black Water stream ran red after dye leaked into the watercourse from commercial premises in a nearby industrial estate.

The NIEA has confirmed that one of its inspectors investigated the incident on March 6, noting a red colouration over a 300 metre stretch of the stream, which flows into the Ballymartin Water - a tributary of the Sixmilewater.

“The inspector rapidly identified the source of the pollutant which was later confirmed as being a non toxic red dye. On March 8, the inspector met with the manager of the company identified as the source. The Manager confirmed that, on the evening of March 6, a dye container was accidentally perforated as the container was being loaded onto a lorry. The company had immediately acted to both contain and clean up the spillage. A small quantity of the dye entered the Black Water during the clean up,” a spokesperson explained.

“The company has not been responsible for any pollution incidents in the past and NIEA are content that their contingency plans in the event of any future spillages are appropriate to minimise the risk of any further discharges. There were no dead fish or other distressed wildlife associated with this incident,” she added.

Michael Martin, Vice-Chair of the Six Mile River Trust - the group set up after a major fish kill on the Ballymartin and Sixmile rivers in June 2008 - confirmed that there had been no major impact on wildlife on this occasion.

“It just looked really terrible, but the dye wasn’t toxic and there was no fish kill thankfully,” he told the Times.

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