Pollution response in Northern Ireland

The unit that deals with pollution incident response consists of a small number of administrative and scientific staff who are based in our headquarters on the Antrim Road, Lisburn. The administrative staff work in conjunction with our field staff.

The team co-ordinates the response to all reported pollution incidents. Once an incident has been reported and its severity assessed, the Duty Emergency Pollution Officer then mobilises the staff and resources necessary to deal with each incident.

We respond to every reported incident with a view to:

• tracing the source of pollution
• stopping the pollution at source
• identifying the polluter
• collecting sufficient evidence, if appropriate, to secure a prosecution
• notifying persons who may be affected by a serious incident
• organising/giving advice for clean-up operations (if required)
• preventing the continuation or the repetition of pollution
• enforcing the legislation and making the polluter pay.

If you would like to find out more about the nature of incidents that we encounter in Northern Ireland you can find details of these in our annual statistics reports which can be found in the publications section of this website some examples of which include:

• Water Pollution Incident and Prosecution Statistics 2003 report(.PDF 2.06Mb)
• Water Pollution Incidents and Enforcement report 2004 (.PDF 2.71Mb)
• Water Pollution Incidents and Enforcement report 2005 (.PDF 3.0Mb)
• Water Pollution Incidents and Enforcement report 2006 ( Incorporating Industrial Consents: Regulation of Industrial Discharges under the Water (NI) Order 1999, from 2000 to 2006) (.PDF 1Mb).
• Water Pollution Incidents and Enforcement report 2007 (.PDF 548Kb)
• Water Pollution Incidents and Enforcement Report 2008 (.PDF 532KB)
• Water Pollution Incidents and Enforcement Report 2009 (.PDF 912Kb)
• Water Pollution Incidents and Enforcement Report 2010 (.PDF 1.06Mb)