'No risk' to public after fire at fertiliser plant which caused bright orange cloud

Kayleigh Fraser

24 May 2024 at 3:59 pm·1-min read

'No risk' to public after fire at fertiliser plant which caused bright orange cloud <i>(Image: Contributor)</i> — 'No risk' to public after fire at fertiliser plant which caused bright orange cloud *(Image: Contributor)*

The police have this evening urged residents that there is no wider risk following a fire that broke out at a fertiliser plant today.

A plume of bright orange smoke was the sight for many residents in Billingham this afternoon (May 24) who spotted the cloud after a fire broke out at CF Fertilisers.

Emergency services attended the blaze following reports of an industrial incident involving the small release of a gas from the facility.

The Ostwald reaction to make nitric acid from ammonia is a bit more visible in Billingham today than it usually is… #NO2 pic.twitter.com/M6Ybceh48V
— Richard Ward (@Shakyshakes1980) May 24, 2024

No-one is understood to have been injured.

Police have now issued their latest statement on the incident, stating that there is not a wider risk to the public.

Theu said: "We want to reassure the members of the public that there is no wider risk following the incident at the site of a fertiliser company in Haverton Hill.

"An industrial incident involving the small release of a gas from the facility happened this lunchtime.

"There are no reports of any injuries to anyone and there are no off-site implications or further risk to the public."

Following the incident, CF Fertilisers have confirmed that there is an investigation underway.

A spokesperson said: "At approximately 12:20 pm today, there was an incident at one of the Billingham Complex’s nitric acid plants that resulted in a release of nitrous oxide.

Get more content including the stories that matter to your community from The Northern Echo for just £3 for 3 months for a limited time only here.

"The plant’s safety system worked as designed and the plant was shut down safely, stopping the release within five minutes.

"The incident is over and there is no risk to the public.

"A full investigation of the incident will follow."

The Telegraph
Five problem plants to avoid when buying a property – and what to do if you spot them
Buying a property can be a complicated business, but there may be problems lurking in the garden which threaten to derail a purchase altogether.
The Telegraph
Three-legged lion makes record-breaking swim across a crocodile-infested river - for sex
Romance can be challenging, but few suitors have shown the determination and courage of Jacob, a three-legged lion.
CBC
Dad travels 6,000 km to help son fix model train at Yukon's Transportation Museum
The executive director of the Yukon Transportation Museum is getting help from his dad, a recently retired electrical engineer living in New Jersey, repairing a model train that's been on display for decades.The old White Pass model train diorama has been at the museum since 1997. "I would love to see this train be able to run" said 32-year-old Sean Ridder, the museum's head. But the high cost of hiring someone with the right expertise to fix it meant the repairs weren't happening.Then Sean's de
The Telegraph
Starmer’s energy supply plans will take Britain back to the dark ages
We are in a global race for energy. Countries that source enough will thrive, countries that don’t will be colder and poorer. That’s why industry leaders, academics and even union leaders have all been calling out the dangers of Labour’s plans for Britain’s energy supplies.
The Argus
Super sloth dad praised as baby reaches big milestone
Zoo keepers have praised a super sloth dad after his baby took her first steps just in time for Father’s Day.
The Telegraph
News species of vegetarian piranha discovered in the Amazon
A brand new species of vegetarian piranha has been discovered by scientists in the Amazon River.
CNN
Flies, mosquitoes, raw sewage and mountains of garbage threaten to worsen Gaza’s health crisis
Raw sewage, swarms of flies and mosquitoes, garbage piled high in the streets. As the heat of summer gathers, hundreds of thousands of people in Gaza are contending with a crisis in sanitation - as well as hunger and the frequent need to move from one place to another in the search for safety from air strikes and fighting.
AFP
Water crisis batters war-torn Sudan as temperatures soar
War, climate change and man-made shortages have brought Sudan -- a nation already facing a litany of horrors -- to the shores of a water crisis.Now, from the western deserts of Darfur, through the fertile Nile Valley and all the way to the Red Sea coast, a water crisis has hit 48 million war-weary Sudanese who the US ambassador to the United Nations on Friday said are already facing "the largest humanitarian crisis on the face of the planet."
PA Media: UK News
Claire Coutinho: Labour’s energy policy will be ‘triple whammy on UK’
Labour has pledged to prevent new North Sea oil and gas licences being awarded.
South China Morning Post
How do hydrogen vehicles work? Are they the future of transport?
At the International Hydrogen Fuel Cell Vehicle Congress and Exhibition in Shanghai last week, more than 300 companies from countries including China, Japan, Korea and Canada came to showcase their latest technology and products. Vehicles powered by hydrogen fuel cells, which emit only water, have attracted increasing attention from policymakers and companies seeking to decarbonise to limit global warming to less than 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. Some carmakers consider hydro
The Telegraph
Why animal activists want to cancel the RSPCA
When two activists defaced the King’s portrait in a London gallery this week, it wasn’t in outrage over Big Oil for once.
The Northern Echo
£4m work begins at improving water quality in North East waterways
Yorkshire Water has announced that the work began at the Thornton-le-Beans wastewater treatment site.
South Wales Argus
Newport shines in the UK's sunniest locations list
Newport has been named as one of the ten sunniest places in the UK.
The Guardian
Offshore windfarm zone off Illawarra coast given green light in bid to ‘power Australia’s clean energy future’
Zone will be 20km off the coast and exclude areas significant for little penguin and for southern right whale migration
The Guardian
Country diary: Sharks, clams and eelgrass – this is an underwater haven
Laxey Bay, Isle of Man: This protected marine area is doing better than most, but there remains one rather foul problem to address
Bloomberg
The UK’s Muddy Fields Are Latest Climate Threat to Food Security
(Bloomberg) -- From tractors stuck in muddy paddocks to raw sewage washing up from clogged waterways, extreme rain and flooding have wreaked havoc on British farmers this year. The soggy and turbulent weather — exacerbated by climate change — has stunted their ability to provide homegrown crops for bread, beer and nearly every grocery aisle.Most Read from BloombergFlesh-Eating Bacteria That Can Kill in Two Days Spreads in JapanUkraine Bid for Global South Support Falters at Swiss SummitDanes Ask
Darlington and Stockton Times
National Park seeks fields and hedgerows for free tree planting scheme
Free schemes are being highlighted to encourage tree planting in the North York Moors National Park.
OK! Magazine
Meghan Markle issues essential demand to Harry over return to UK
According to an expert, there's a reason why Meghan Markle hasn't returned to the UK with Prince Harry - and has told him there's one condition in which she'll come back
Manchester Evening News
Horror as dad stopped at UK airport on flight back home and sent back to Spain
“They told him we’ll all have to go to Spain and start a new life there, or that we should separate and he should go back to Spain by himself - it’s just horrible"
The Telegraph
Inside Britain’s shrinking town – as the rest of the nation faces record immigration
Clouds overlook endless miles of flat fields surrounding a town that was once one of the UK’s most prosperous.

Latest stories