Now we have some hot weather, the fumes coming from Sonae lead many residents near the factory to have to close windows and suffer the heat rather than breathe in the fumes emitted from the factory. Residents in a Tower Block almost 1 mile away sometimes have to endure the unbearable odour of tons of new chip board - the smell is a cross between wood and an array of chemicals. The effect of breathing this in is very unpleasant and can lead to sinus trouble plus bronchial irritation. Everyone in Northwood and even areas a few miles away recognises the chemical smell of Sonae.

The chimney is not the only problem. As detailed on Kirkby Times, there is a massive wood dust mountain left outside in the elements to blow freely over the community. The mountain caught fire last year and burned for weeks, polluting the nearby residents and also the River which flows through the factory's grounds. Given the hot weather lately it remains an ever present threat that the wood dust may again catch fire. We have another article on the wood dust very soon.

Sonae Fumes from various vents

The latest problem concerns various vents on the Sonae roof which emit fumes. These vents seem to be more noticeably active during the evening, and is at times so bad that a visible haze can be seen surrounding the factory on a still evening. Unfortunately Kirkby Times has not got a good enough camera to take photos of an evening in the dark (feel free to donate one!) but the photo below shows clear evidence of the actual fumes being released. If there was a Court hearing then hundreds of residents of Northwood would testify that this is happening every night.

Below - it's not just the Chimney releasing fumes, there are quite a number of various vents on the Sonae roof. And it seems this happens more noticeably between the hours of 8.00pm at night to 5.00am in the morning, are they hiding something here?