SENIOR managers from Earby's Wardle Storeys factory were given a grilling by angry residents at a sometimes stormy two-hour meeting in the town on Monday.

But the company representatives expressed fresh optimism about new filtration equipment soon to be installed at the Grove Mill factory, which should solve the longstanding problems with fume emissions.

Residents living around the factory claim they have suffered for over 10 years with odours and emissions - droplets which "eat" into the paintwork on their cars and houses and permanently mark UPVC windows, and acrid smells which mean they have to keep their doors and windows shut.

They also have serious concerns about the possible effects on their health.

Over 60 residents attended the public forum staged by the company at the New Road Community Centre on Monday.

Chaired by Earby councillor Tim Haigh, the panel included Wardle Storeys plant manager Mike Mills, technical manager Robin Bundy, chief engineer Brian Foster and environmental manager John Blackburn, plus Pendle Council's principal environmental health officer Stuart Arnott.

The meeting began with a presentation from Mr Bundy about the processes at Grove Mill, where Wardle Storeys manufactures PVC sheeting, coated fabrics and laminates.

He explained that PVC polymers were mixed with oily liquids called "plasticisers" to soften them and make them flexible.

Problems were caused when some of the plasticisers escaped in fume emissions from the plant's main chimney during the baking and drying process, settling in droplets outside where they could have the same softening effect on certain materials.

But before Mr Bundy could continue his presentation, residents began firing questions at him. One resident of Shuttleworth Street said she was now unable to paint her house because the oily residue had soaked into the brickwork, and her car had been ruined by it.

Judy Yakoub, a volunteer with Friends of the Earth, asked what the platicisers were, and whether they were toxic. Mr Bundy said they were two types of "phthalates" which had many applications in the food and medical industries and were not toxic.

There was some support for that from Mr Arnott, who referred to a recent letter which he sent to several residents after researching the possible affects on health of the emissions.

The advice from the Medical Toxicology Unit in London was that the phthalates were not very toxic, falling into the "low" or "slight to moderate" class, but that evidence was based on studies of animals eating them, as opposed to inhaling them.

His letter added: "One of the constituents of the vapour can cause sore throats and eyes and sometimes more serious problems on inhallation."

Mr Arnott said the effects on individuals would depend on their susceptibility to the fumes - people with breathing problems would suffer more - but he assured residents the plant was being monitored "virtually every day".

There was a string of complaints voiced about past incidents, and plant manager Mike Mills accepted there was a problem.

But he stressed the company was working hard to solve it, spending £250,000 to £300,000 over the past five years. He said several methods had been tried to filter out the emissions but they were not very successful, with no proven technology available.

However, he revealed the company was looking at new equipment which should be on site by the end of March. Managers had seen it in operation and believed it would improve the problem significantly.

The new system used a cooling and spray method to "condense out" the droplets while still in the chimney, the emissions then passing through a further filter before reaching the atmosphere.

He stressed Wardle Storeys was taking a whole range of environmental issues very seriously, illustrated by the appointment of John Blackburn as environmental manager at the site, with a team working under him.

"We are trying to move forward on this," he said, inviting any concerned residents to contact him and come to visit the factory for themselves.

He also agreed to a request from Earby Parish Councillor Vic Marsh to stage a similar public meeting in perhaps six months time, after the new equipment was installed.

It was also agreed to establish a residents' panel to liaise with the company.

Stuart Arnott also stressed that the new equipment would be closely monitored and if it did not work he would not hesitate to use his legal powers to prosecute the company.

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