Over 5,000 liters of whiskey leaked into Scotland’s River Ayr. The bottling plant responsible for the spill, Glen Catrine Bonded Warehouse Limited received a fine of nearly $20,000 following the incident.
‘Drowning sorrows with liquor’ was taken to a whole new level. Over 5,000 liters of whiskey leaked into Scotland’s River Ayr. The bottling plant responsible for the spill, Glen Catrine Bonded Warehouse Limited received a fine of nearly $20,000 following the incident.
It all started when a tanker truck carrying 27,500 liters of the spirit arrived at Warehouse’s site. The liquor was mistakenly pumped into the wrong vat, believed to be a full one, resulting in the massive overspill.
Although the pumping was stopped by workers once they noticed liquor spewing from the vat, by then it was too late. The river was already polluted.
The Scottish Environment Protection Agency was alerted. The bottling firm was then held accountable and just recently landed in court. The company pled guilty to polluting the waters and received the hefty fine as punishment.
Said Sara Shaw, a Wildlife and Environment authority “Due to the absence of a number of appropriate systems and staff training, there was always the risk of accident or an overfill incident if an error was made."
It was, however, pointed out the plant took preventative measures after the occurrence to stop future spills.
