ENVIRONMENTAL watchdogs have been called in to investigate a new £330,000 ambulance depot after workers began falling ill.
Paramedics at the Scottish Ambulance Service station at Cumbernauld, North Lanarkshire, have suffered breathing problems since moving to the site.
One worker is believed to have left the site and another is on sick leave.
The Scottish Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA) has been called in to monitor dust levels at the depot.
The centre is close to two industrial plants, including a recycling facility.
A source said: "We believe the problem is caused by dust levels. One colleague has left because the doctor told him that his health would be affected if he stayed. Now another member of staff is on sick leave."
Jamie Hepburn, the MSP for Cumbernauld and Kilsyth, said: "I welcome the fact that SEPA are responding to the concerns expressed by Scottish Ambulance Service staff about the impact on them by the adjacent recycling facility.
"Clearly we need recycling facilities of this type, but it is important that they are located sensibly."
The station, home to around 43 staff, was officially opened in April last year. Two emergency ambulances and a paramedic response unit operate from it.
A Scottish Ambulance Service spokesman said: "The welfare of our employees is paramount and following concerns raised by staff we have asked SEPA to look into the dust levels in the area which may be associated with neighbouring businesses.
"We will await the outcome of that process before determining the most appropriate course of action."
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article