ANTI-CEMFUEL campaigners were jubilant today after Clitheroe firm Castle Cement was served with a surprise notice to stop burning the controversial fuel until further notice.

Campaigners have always claimed the fuel is dangerous and pollutes the atmosphere - claims strongly denied by the company.

But everyone involved in the dispute has been shocked by the decision which came completely out of the blue.

The Environment Agency says it is unhappy with the way the fuel is sampled and analysed at Castle Cement before it is burned.

And it has banned any further burning until the agency has agreed revised arrangements for "sampling, analysis, storage and preparation for burning".

The agency says it has taken the steps following a detailed assessment of the burning of Cemfuel over the last six months. Ian Handyside, the agency's North West regional manager said: "There are clear specifications for the content of Cemfuel and this revised requirement for using Cemfuel will mean we can ensure these specifications are properly adhered to."

Delighted anti-Cemfuel campaigner Mary Horner described the suspension as "wonderful news".

However, a spokesman for Castle Cement said the firm was "astonished" by the decision and would be seeking an urgent meeting with the Mr Handyside this weekend "to clarify the situation".

The company will now revert to burning 100 per cent coal instead of the current mixture of around 75 per cent coal to 25 per cent Cemfuel. The company is allowed to burn up to 40 per cent Cemfuel.

Ribble Valley MP Nigel Evans said the move showed that the Environment Agency was going to be tougher on Castle Cement than Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Pollution had been.

He added: "I'll be pressing the Environment Agency to monitor the air quality now that the burning of Cemfuel has been suspended.

"We've not had the opportunity before to compare the air quality without Cemfuel."

Cemfuel, a blend of waste industrial solvents, is used at Castle Cement in conjunction with coal to heat kilns to around 1500 degrees.

Samples of the fuel, made by Heysham-based company Solrec, are tested every time a new batch arrives at the Clitheroe plant. A Castle Cement spokesman said: "We are astonished because we believe the procedures we've developed and agreed with the agency for the sampling, analysis, storage and preparation of Cemfuel are comprehensive.

"The notice was issued with no prior warning or discussion of its content which would seem to be outside the spirit, if not the letter, of the Agency's procedures.

"It's ironic that this move should follow closely on the release by the Environment Agency of an air quality survey described by them as the most comprehensive they've ever undertaken which classified local air quality as "very good" for 99.9 per cent of the time, already meeting standards set for the year 2005."

Judy Yacoub, co-ordinator of the Pendle Group of Friends of the Earth, said: "It's a surprise but a welcome one.

"We hope it shows the direction that the Agency plans to take to protect people from pollution and toxic waste incineration."

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.