The Liverpool Times

Here’s the email I sent to Knowsley councils environmental and the reply also.

To whomever it concerns.

I hope this email address is still functioning, if not could you forward this to the environmental protection team. (* note, this is now called the Compliance and Prevention Team)

Dear Sir/Madam.

There has been a constant smell from the Sonae factory over the past few weeks affecting the Northwood area of Kirkby in particular.

The same smell comes and goes as you have testified in the past, through correspondence with Northwood residents.

What, may I ask, is the environmental protection team (or whatever your called now) doing to monitor the dust levels from Sonae?

I feel that there are not enough proactive measures from the environmental dept over the Sonae pollution.

I would like to know, as a matter of urgency, what you are doing about this pollution.

I have taken photos of the Sonae dust mountains since 2002, and feel that they are a major source of pollution to the town.

Yours sincerely.

Beleaguered Northwood resident.

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PC Says….

Our fellow South African Sonae victims tell me that Sonae staff, from the Kirby plant, has been visiting the SA plant. Why’s that I wonder? Residents of the SA plant, currently in a long battle to stop Sonae from expanding the plant there, are concerned for Kirkby residents as Sonae may be snooping around to check out just how much they can get away with in Kirkby and that maybe Sonae have plans to expand the Kirkby plant too. KIRKBY RESIDENTS WATCH OUT!

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An Email [not letter!] from our friends and fellow Sonae sufferers in White River South Africa

Dear Kirkby Residents,

I am a concerned resident living in White River, South Africa, and we too have a Sonae plant of our own, pumping dust, formaldehyde and noise into the local environment. This plant has recently undertaken the illegal construction of a new drier that will allow them to more than double their production and likely their pollution too. The local authorities have refused to allow Sonae to commission their illegal drier, so at the moment it stands inactive while Sonae does a great deal of behind-the-scenes work to try and get permission to operate it.

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Sonae lies to South African residents about Sonae in Kirkby

Ed - Another excellent article from our friend ‘PC’….

As promised in a previous reply to a post, I have made contact with South African residents and other concerned organisations there (referred to by Sonae in their report as IAP’s Interested Affected Parties. Not bad considering they profess that no one is ‘affected’ by their actions and emissions!), who are also suffering at the hands of Sonae. They are currently fighting a proposed expansion of the plant there which local residents are assured will not increase the dust and fumes problem that they already suffer from.

Only it’s not so much a ‘proposed’ expansion any more as Sonae went ahead and built it anyway, despite not having the relevant permissions from the authorities, DESPITE holding Public Consultations and EIA’s (Environmental Impact Assessments). Sounds familiar doesn’t it, they profess to be considering carefully and sympathetically the impact on local residents promising to address problems and concerns of those they affect, when all along they’re doing exactly what they want to regardless. No change there then. They continue to flout the laws no matter which country they are operating in. Sonae have no regard or respect for anything or anyone not even the law of the land but we all know that don’t we, sadly to our detriment.

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Sonae in South Africa, Sonae in Kirkby, globalisation on the doorsteps of the poor.

News has been a bit thin on the ground of late – but the pollution from Sonae hasn’t! The recent spell of a few days sunny weather, bought more pollution here in Kirkby, which we’ll report in another article with more photos.

As it happens, we’ve had correspondence from a doctor in South Africa, who is also an officer of the Wildlife and Environment Society of South Africa (WESSA). He has bravely come out and denounced Sonae for the appalling impact their operation has on the local community.

Here is the email…

Dear Anti-Sonae groups.

We have the same problems in White River south Africa, where a Sonae chipboard and MDF plant is spewing wood dust and particulate matter all over the neighbouring industrial and residential communities. Formaldehyde emissions have been proved to be several times higher than tolerable.

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Ever have the feeling, we’re being fobbed off?

Recent reports of a smell perhaps drifting over from Europe was reported in all the media outlets. The smell was said to be manure being spread on various European farms and the tabloids cheerfully and ignorantly poked fun at the ‘EU Smell’.

Sources from the Met Office indicated that the smell “was agricultural or industrial works’ smells swept over from north-west Europe by strong easterly winds.”

Bear in mind that industrial pollution in Europe (especially East Europe) is on the rise, party due to economic revivals of some nations, flush with EU funds, new industries mushrooming in the big cities and forgotten urban areas - just like we used to be.

Either way, it stands to reason that if a source of pollution can travel hundreds of miles across the Atlantic Ocean, then any town that happens to live next to some major source of pollution is in a lot more trouble.

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Time to get rid of this filthy polluting factory owned by criminals.

The past week has been a bad one as far as the pollution from Sonae is concerned. The smell of that filthy factory once again spread itself over Kirkby, with Northwood as usual faring the worse due to the close proximity.

The world could actually get a glimpse of Sonae as the Grand National event took place. As the horses ran around the track, the camera caught the chimney with its cloud of God knows what pouring from it 24/7, apart from yearly maintenance, accidents and perhaps another explosion. The actual smell from Sonae can reach Aintree if the winds prevail.

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After reading the many articles and reports written about Sonae, on this website and many others, regarding its wood dust fume emitting production plants, my heart went out to the people of Kirby and beyond.

Their nightmare continues and their lives devastated all for the sake of company profits.

By the time the public and the relevant authorities finally wake up and realise the true extent of the damage done, possible deaths caused, the lives ruined, the likes of Sonae and other wood composite board manufacturers will be long gone. Leaving behind a truly horrific unimaginable legacy, a trail of destruction, equalled only maybe by that previously trodden sadly by the many asbestos victims.

‘Wood dust’ per se is officially classified as carcinogenic as is Formaldehyde and Silica! Wood composite boards, often made from toxic recycled waste wood, contain a cocktail of many toxic poisons in the waste wood, resins, glue’s, within their composition. When they are then laminated, veneered and coated then more toxic substances are added to the highly toxic ‘sandwich’.

Producing, machining and sawing this stuff will make people seriously ill, disabled and will kill. Carcinogens are killers. Cancer kills people! Carcinogenic means there are no safe levels. You cannot breathe in or ingest a safe amount. Also, your body takes in these toxic substances in other ways too, your skin for example, is your body’s largest breathing organ not your lungs.

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More Sonae pollution news covered up

On Friday the 28th September at 9pm, until noon on Saturday the 29th September 2007, residents in the centre of Kirkby endured, not for the first time, the overpowering stench of burning wood from the Sonae factory.

Back in 2003 Granada TV pulled the plug on a new £20million pound IT learning centre planned to be built at the far end of the Liverpool FC Academy, over “health and safety concerns” about Sonae.

The FC Academy is now a virtual white elephant.

If Everton FC would have played in a stadium, near to County Road, Hall Lane, and Roughwood Drive, that day, their supporters would have had a taste, and lung full of the burning wood stench.

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Payments to Kirkby residents kept quiet.

Sonae have already paid out compensation to some residents from Kirkby. The news, we presume, has been covered up due to the fact that if one person from Northwood, Kirkby can be compensated, we all can!

It is our understanding that Sonae only paid out with the stipulation that those who won payments reported at between £1800 and £2000, stayed quiet. We ask Northwood Labour party councillors and George Howarth MP to either confirm or deny these allegations.

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Pollution back again.

The Sonae factory opened up for business yesterday on Monday the 19th March 2007. A short burst of smoke from the factory [not from the chimney stack] was seen before the chimney started up again.

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First published July 2003.

The main argument used against Sonae is regarding the fumes released by the chimney or various vents. The chimney seems to be the main highlighted issue - perhaps because the chimney is highly visible - and for a lot of people here it’s the only part of Sonae we see. However, the pollution isn’t just coming from the chimney or the other vents which seem to be more active at night.

The smell we have hanging in the air is actually tiny particles of wood dust - we’ve ALL smelt that overpowering chemical smell - if you have new chipboard furniture you will be familiar with the sickly smell - the artificial wood and chemical odours which is there until the wood ‘dries’ properly. Even in household furniture made from Chipboard - chemicals are released for a while. If a few bits of furniture can cause adverse health reactions in people (and they can) then what is a massive mountain of this wood dust going to do to us?

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Destroy toxic Sonae - Kirkby united - will never be polluted.

First published July 2003.

A meeting regarding Sonae was held recently and one of Kirkby Times correspondents was invited to the meeting after pressurising Knowsley Councils Neil Turner the head of Knowsley Environmental Health and Local MP George Howarth on the issue of Sonae.

The meeting, set up by Howarth, was to discuss the problems which the plant is causing. Invited to this meeting were representatives from KATS (who never turned up) and representatives from Sonae who seem to feel the communities concerns are not important enough to attend. In total there were 8 people.

This included 2 members of the Parish Council.

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First published 13th June 2003

Kirkby Response Theatre have put together a play about the Toxic Sonae Plant, the play is titled ‘Dead Fish and Chipboard’ and is described as ‘a comedy, with music, which will take your breath away!’ (like Sonae’s pollution)

Anyone who sees the play can write a review of it for inclusion here on Kirkby Times. All accounts so far have been positive, but maybe you work at Sonae and think it’s a load of Scouse propaganda?

The founder member of Kirkby Response theatre is John Fay, who is currently a writer for Manchester Soap Opera, Coronation Street. Well, it pays the bills we suppose and at least John has put something back to Kirkby in giving his own time freely to pass on his experience as a working class playwright and script writer to those involved with the play. The premier was at Kirkby Unemployed Centre, but other venues across Merseyside will also be showing the play.

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First published June 11 2003.

Shut Sonae down.

This is to every person who lives in Kirkby from a Kirkby man who has lived here all his life, all 44 years of it. (just a whipper snapper some might say).

Hard knocks come and go.

I have seen all manor of thing and heard some story’s seen the so called hard knocks come and go ,but through all of it the decent Kirkby people have always won through even when we get slagged off by outsiders remember RAY GOSLING T.V REPORTER? He just went to the bad parts and made us look like pigs. So like many of you reading this I love Kirkby and always will. BUT!….

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First published June 09 2003.

Poisoning the kids of Kirkby.

Kirkby Times is publishing a letter from George Howarth MP which was sent to a local resident who e-mailed him from his home near the vicinity of the Sonae factory. The letter from Howarth was a reply to a local man who is plagued with problems associated with the Sonae Factory here in Northwood Kirkby.

This local man alleges like many other people that Sonae has covered himself, his wife and children, his car, and his home with dust. This fact is hard to deny and Kirkby Times has long alerted the community, and indeed the World to the fact that a mountain of wood dust is stored fully exposed near a residential area.

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