Environment

As stated in our HSE policy we are committed to minimising the impact of our facilities on the environment. We believe that we have made good progress in achieving a sustained low level of environmental incidents.

As well as complying with environmental reporting requirements, Elementis records and categorises incidents according to the seriousness of the impact for monitoring purposes, so that continual improvements can be made. Tier 1 incidents have no impact on the environment, such as minor spills that can be confined and require no regulatory reporting. Tier 2 incidents have a minor impact and Tier 3 have some impact on the environment.

In 2008 the on-going businesses in Elementis had one Tier 3 incident (2007: one) which involved a financial penalty for discharging what the local sanitation board considered to be untreated process effluent at our Charleston facility. There were no Tier 2 incidents (2007: one). We record and monitor all Tier 1 incidents but do not report these as their principal purpose is to allow our HSE professionals to investigate and learn from them in order that improvements can be made and to reduce the likelihood of future Tier 2 and 3 incidents.

Our target is to comply with all environmental regulations and permits, with zero environmental incidents classed as Elementis Tiers 2 and 3. Beyond that we will strive for continual improvement in standards to reduce our impact on the environment.

To review the Group's environmental performance, refer to the 2008 Annual Report and Accounts which can be found on this website.