Paint firm fined after toxic chemical released into Devon river

The Guardian, a British daily news paper has published that TBT was a chemical that International Paint Ltd. "utterly failed" to keep under control at its dormant factory on the banks of the Yealm in Devon.

TBT was employed in anti-fouling paints for ships to retard the growth of barnacles and algae until it was banned globally in the 2000s due to its extreme toxicity to invertebrate species. It is especially troublesome to mollusks.

The Environment Agency opened an investigation, the court was told, after the company attempted to sell the property and reports of potential pollution emerged.