Clean-up underway following incident at Harper Adams University
A processing tank which is part of a £3m anaerobic digestion power plant today collapsed leaking slurry onto land Harper Adams University near Newport.
The scene of the incident is half a mile from the main university and no injuries were reported, a clean-up operation is underway at the site along with an investigation into the cause.
The majority of the digestate from the tank was contained behind a bund, but some spilled over on to the access road to the site, bounded to the other side by one of the university farm's fields. The spill was contained and didn't reach the public highway or local water courses.
Power production at the site has been ceased and a team from the Environment Agency is working on the ground alongside Harper Adams staff to pump away the spilled digestate and assess the impact on the surrounding environment.
A statement from the Vice Chancellor said:
“We were made aware of an incident within one of the processing tanks of the anaerobic digestion plant early this morning. The relevant authorities were then informed.
“After checking that no one had been hurt, our priority was to make the site safe for the workforce and begin the process of establishing what happened and what damage had occurred, while taking all possible steps to minimise any impact on the surrounding environment.
“The incident has been contained on a small section of the Harper Adams estate – none of the digestate has reached the public highway.
“The Environment Agency is now working with Harper Adams to assess and clean up the site.”
The B5062 was closed for a short time but is now fully open.
