Landfill site found to be safe after gas detection

A gas detection found by the environmental analysis of a disused Hucknall landfill site is unlikely to threaten human health, officials have said.

Councillor Tony Theaker, cabinet member for health and housing, described the Environment Agency's findings as a "relief" for local residents, reports the Nottingham Evening Post.

It comes after a landfill site in Nene Valley recently reopened after a fire broke out at the site in January.

The cause of the fire was unknown, but it was allowed to burn out safely, Grant district council health manager Bob Dunstone told the Border Watch.

At Hucknall, potentially explosive methane gas was found to be trapped at the former landfill site, but environmental analysis found that the gas was not located close to residential areas on the edge of the area.

"If in June there is no lateral movement they will vent it into the air or pour something in to nullify it," Councillor Theaker told the newspaper.

"None of the gas they found is a significant risk to human health but they need to deal with it," he added.