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Walleys Quarry: Operator of closed landfill goes into liquidation

BBC.com · last updated

What is causing the smell?published at 11:57 Greenwich Mean Time

published at 03:57

The stench has been put down to the chemical hydrogen sulphide, which has a smell of rotten eggs.

Up to 400,000 tonnes of waste was being dumped annually in Walley’s Quarry and, when it breaks down, it can produce hydrogen sulphide.

The Environment Agency (EA) has long been monitoring levels of the chemical at the site and it was regularly found to have exceeded guideline levels.

Studies have shown that exposure to high levels of hydrogen sulphide over time can lead to an increase in fatigue, irritability, headaches, poor memory, stress and nausea.

Last year, the EA reported that the pollution detectors installed at the site in 2016 had been underreporting levels of the chemical — an issue discovered and corrected in August 2023.

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