AN INVESTIGATION into the cause of a chemical spill at an Oswestry recycling plant is ongoing.

The incident at Oswestry Waste Paper on December 6, 2018 affected seven members of staff, with five being kept in hospital overnight.

Now the Environment Agency and Health and Safety Executive are continuing the investigation into the incident, as they aim to discover how the package was able to reach the Oswestry site.

Neil Clarke, Managing Director of Recycling UK Ltd which owns Oswestry Waste Paper said: “The incident was caused by a package of chemicals which was accidentally sent to us in recycled material by one of our suppliers.

“The chemicals were tracked back to Brazil.

“The issue is in the hands of the HSE and the Environmental Agency now, so they will now be looking at how the package was able to get into the country and onto our premises.

“We were closed for 24 hours following the incident. The package was taken away and the site was decontaminated.

“The reality is that it was a one-off accident that couldn’t have been predicted. It could have happened anywhere.

“We’re now waiting for feedback from the authorities now.

“The incident was dealt with by everyone impeccably. Everything was dealt with as it should’ve been, the safety procedures were implemented, and the emergency services worked very well.

“Our main concern is that something like this was able to happen. Obviously, it’s reassuring for us that the HSE and Environmental Agency will now be looking at what can be done to ensure this doesn’t happen again.”

A spokesman for HSE said: “The investigation at Oswestry Waste Paper is being undertaken by the Environment Agency. HSE is supporting their investigation.”