LNRC

[chriscastle46]

I was down there today with the Cheddar CC and there is a strong and very unpleasant smell of diesel, so bad it made one of our number feel rough and we cut our trip short.
I tried to inform the Cambrian CC but the Contact Us button did not work.

Chris

 

[robjones]

There was a distinct (but nothing like as extreme as you describe) smell of diesel in Flood Entrance on 7 September. It decreased as one proceeded into the cave and was very very slight by Canal Bypass. There was no smell in the main streamway. The smell was present but less noticeable in the river outside Flood Entrance. Nowhere could I see an oily film on water surfaces however except possibly in the last pool in the river before the bridge; beyond this pool the riverbed was dry.

 

[ogofmole]

Might be worth letting the Conservation Officer at CCC know about this.

conservationofficer@cambriancavingcouncil.org.uk

 

[Jopo]

I did forward the post by chriscastle46 to Stuart France (CCC conservation officer)

Stuart was already aware of this latest pollution and had already visited the site, taken samples and been in touch with NRW and BBNP.

Stuart does not use UKcaving and has asked that cavers note this number for pollution reports concerning Welsh caves

0800 80 70 60

Otherwise  ccc@linetop.co.uk or via the conservation officer link on the CCC website.

Those who use LNRC know that this is a long running problem and Stuart is trying to get a full investigation underway.

cheers

Jopo

 

[Huge]

Didn't notice anything in Bridge last week so it doesn't seem to have reached that far.

 

[Peter Burgess]

Do offroaders still ford the river, following the Sarn Helen?

 

[Jopo]

Do offroaders still ford the river, following the Sarn Helen?

Yes they do - in spite of a notice forbidding the use of the Sarn Helen by motor vehicles.

Stuart is trying to get a locked gate rather than a notice. I think you can be fined. There was a local documentary a few months ago which included the policing of the Sarn Helen. It was obvious the notice is ignored.

Jopo

 

[paul]

[gmod]Totally off-topic posts deleted[/gmod]

 

[Peter Burgess]

Diesel / fuel oil is remarkably persistent. There is an underground location in Surrey where the smell of spilled oil persists some 30 odd years after a surface spillage occurred. The smell is still very strong. So this recent observation COULD simply be recent disturbance of ground where a spillage took place a long time ago, such as a pocket of oil in the ground from an old spill, disturbed by a vehicle driving through it, for example. I know it's speculation, but I mention it simply to point out that whatever caused it may not have happened that recently.

 

[Jopo]

Stuart France has asked me to post the following.  I cannot seem to copy his pics which show some of the pollution in situ. I will try later


On Saturday 27/9/2014 the cavers entrance to LNRC still smelled strongly of diesel.  This problem subsides the further that you go in, and at the Bridge Cave confluence it is only slight.  Bridge Cave itself is not affected.  Visits into LNRC at the present time are not advised for safety reasons and further announcements will be made when matters improve.  For information about diesel, see this:
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/317389/HPA_Compendium_of_Chemical_Hazards_DIESEL__v3.pdf
The sandstone rocks and boulders seem to have absorbed it, being somewhat porous, while the harder limestone rock is relatively unscathed.  Some rocks now have a shiny veneer on which round water droplets form like water in a greasy frying pan.  Many little pools have got a waxy film floating on top (see photos) which I guess has been left behind when the volatile hydrocarbons evaporated off.
The large banks of pretty gour pools near the confluence are also affected but it is not clear if this is because some pollution arrived via the small upper stream that feeds the gours or from recent cavers? movements.  This is another reason not to go in there right now.  However, if you must, then launder your caving gear well afterwards.
The earliest of these diesel incidents that I can find on the forum was in April 2008.  If you experienced any of these incidents personally, then please email me at ccc@linetop.co.uk with your contact details plus a few sentences about your findings.  I will call you back later as I work through the process of building up the big picture and feed information through to NRW who have begun their own inquiries.  I would especially like to hear from anyone who has explored in LNRC in the past 6 weeks or so.
Many thanks
Stuart France
Cambrian Caving Council

 

[Pyro]

Has anyone been down since Jopo's last post?

If so, any details a month on? I was hoping to get down in November and would rather not have to carry my gear back to Ireland on the ferry with it stinking of diesel...

Cheers.

 

[skippy]

Hi all,

I was in LNRC on Friday and the diesel problem is back.
We have pinpointed where the ingress is.

As you head into the system. Past the little 1m cascade you climb up, over and into a low section. You then come to another climb into an oxbow on the right. Before you drop back into the stream there is an area of slumping/breakdown on the right. The smell is coming from here. Its border line 'retching' strong and disappears by the time you get to the Bridge cave confluence.

I have spoken to Stuart France this morning who is contacting the environment agency in an attempt to find the corresponding surface location.

 

[Stuart France]

This new diesel problem has been reported to Natural Resources Wales today and a fresh case opened.  NRW is a relatively new public body here which incorporates the former Environment Agency Wales.  The previous incident in September 2014 was also reported to NRW and I met with their staff on site then.  I have done several trips into the system myself in the past couple of months to observe the developments.

The September incident resulted from diesel (or similar) entering at Flood Entrance.  The concentration was definitely highest there.  The problem abated by late October with the smell gone and only small traces of oil residues visible here and there.

I went in the cave again yesterday but the water level was too high to pass the low section mentioned by Skippy above which is between cross-sections 5-6 on the UBSS survey.  I found no trace of diesel upstream of that point.  The cave was draughting inwards.  It seems the pollution has entered the system from the surface between cross-sections 6-7 as Skippy has already described.

There may be worse to come if rainwater slowly washes more fuel in from whatever hole is affected on the surface.  Thus it may be longer lasting than the September incident because the high river water flow rates through Flood Entrance helped to clear that one away.

The landowner is aware of what has been happening and permits access on payment of a small fee at the Blaen Nedd Isaf farmhouse.  You should park considerately next to Bridge Cave.

Let the authorities now run the inquiries.  There is little more I can usefully add at present.  But if anyone has first-hand experience or information about this or any previous incident (they go back more or less annually to April 2008 on this forum at the very least) then please get in touch with me via the cambriancavingcouncil.org.uk website.

Stuart France
Conservation Officer
Cambrian Caving Council

 

[Stuart France]

I still do have a bit of a cold at the moment, but I took advantage of the recent spell of dry weather and made an underground visit last weekend to get an update on the pollution in LNRC.  I could not smell diesel anywhere, not even in the rubble area mentioned by Skippy in December.  However, there is still a waxy scum floating on small static pools, these pools are a couple of feet above normal stream levels, just like I saw in September.  I did not find any evidence of diesel spillage in the field directly above the rubble area, and neither did NRW staff who also looked on an independent visit.

I believe that the amount of diesel entering in September was very significant and it spread through the cave on a flood pulse.  Thus it reached into the higher level of the rubble area where water does not normally get, and into various small side passages which are dry or just a trickle except in flood overflow conditions and where small static pools yet preserve the evidence.  The nature of the spreading and residues implies that it was not cavers who later transported the pollutant on their clothing.

My tentative conclusion is that the December observations were a development of the September incident rather than a fresh incident.  It is OK to visit the cave now, and please remember to pay the small fee to the farmer at Blaen Nedd Isaf.  Email any trip reports to me via the Cambrian website as I will be interested to hear about it whether your visit was uneventful or met with problems.

Stuart France
Cambrian Caving Council