‘No long-term risk to health’ after fire smouldered for four months near Worksop

The fire at Kiveton Park Industrial Estate, which began on September 21, was fully extinguished in the last week.

Residents raised concerns about the health impacts from the blaze, which South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue said was made up of “baled waste” stored at an “illegal waste site”.

The Environment Agency has installed an external air quality monitoring unit close to the site and is looking into potential offences at the site.

Dr Simon Padfield, UK Health Security Agency health protection consultant , said: “Now the fire has been extinguished, there is no ongoing risk from smoke, so it is no longer necessary for people to limit their activities in downwind areas or shelter indoors.

“Off-site air quality monitoring and health surveillance did not find significant impacts from the fire and we would not expect any longer-term risk to health from this incident.

“If anyone has specific health concerns, we would recommend they discuss these with their local healthcare practitioner in the first instance.”

Simon Dunker, SYFR area manager, praised the hard work of firefighters at he scene, and local residents for their patience.

He said: “This has been a very protracted incident and we’d like to firstly give praise to our firefighters who have been on scene, seven days a week for several months, dealing with this fire.”

“We’d also like to thank local residents for their patience. While we appreciate it’s not been easy for them, their support and understanding around the complexity of this fire has been gratefully received.”

Geoff Craig, Environment Agency area manager, said: “This has been a difficult fire to extinguish and a challenging incident for everyone involved.

“The EA remains committed to monitoring the site and overseeing the safe removal of waste material by the landowner. We have already written to them to clarify our expectations and their responsibilities and to set deadlines for receipt of their proposals.”

A drop-in session for residents will be held on Thursday, January 19, at Kiveton Park & Wales Village Hall, Walesmoor Avenue, from 3.30-6.30pm.