Action to remove contaminated fire-fighting water

Officers from the Environment Agency are taking action today to support communities impacted by a tyre fire in Bradford.

They are supporting teams from West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service and Yorkshire Water to remove contaminated fire-fighting water which has collected in pools on site at Upper Castle Street.

Pumps will be brought on site to direct the water, which has become contaminated by the tyres, into the sewer and away from nearby becks.

A spokesperson for the Environment Agency, said:

We are monitoring Bowling Beck and Bradford Beck to minimise any environmental impacts from the fire or from surface water as a result of the fire fighting. This is likely to continue as we move into the next week.

More than 40 Environment Agency staff are working round-the-clock to respond to this incident and officers have been on site throughout the incident.

An air quality monitoring unit has been set up at two sites and the information from this monitoring will be used to confirm the public health risk advice being given. Dye tracing tests and river water quality sampling is also taking place to closely monitor any potential impact on the local watercourses.

Public Health England’s current advice to members of the public is that if the smoke is in your area, keep doors and windows shut and minimise exposure if you must go out. If the smoke isn’t affecting where you live, you can take the opportunity to ventilate your property.