Monitoring station is set up near Brora whisky maturation plant following neighbours' concerns over effects of ethanol leakage
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A MONITORING device has been installed near to Brora’s whisky maturation plant following concerns about ethanol leakage.
Residents living close to the whisky storage warehouse, owned by the Glenmorangie Company, have said their properties are being affected by whisky fungus.
The fungus is created when ethanol evaporates through the pores of whisky casks during the maturation process –known as the “Angel’s share” – and combines with moisture in the air.
The resulting compound is known to cause buildings to blacken and has also been said to have affected shrubs and trees.
Householders in Dudgeon Drive, Seaforth Place and Uppat Place raised their concerns with Brora Community Council.
The council invited industrial chemist Michael Taylor to give a presentation at their last meeting when he offered to set up a monitoring station.
Mr Taylor returned to Brora on Tuesday and installed the device which he has developed himself, in a rear garden at Dudgeon Drive.
He was accompanied by Brora Community Council secretary Sandy Crawford.
Mr Taylor said the purpose of the device was to measure the amount of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in the air. VOCs are defined as “gases that are emitted into the air from products or processes”.
Results from the monitoring station are fed back by telemetry to his phone.
Mr Taylor, who has developed an interest in whisky fungus over the last few years, believes planning regulations covering maturation plants should be tightened up and standardised with the requirement that Environmental Impact Assessments to be carried out.
He said that mitigation measures could be taken in a bid to decrease the amount of ethanol released.
The Glenmorangie Company told the Northern Times: “At the Glenmorangie Company we take our health and safety obligations extremely seriously as well as ensuring that we behave as a valued neighbour and member of a community.
"We bought the warehouses in Brora in December 2022 having previously been a tenant at the site. These warehouses are well ventilated – as per the legal requirement for sites being used for whisky maturation.
"The warehouses will be included in a regular cleaning schedule going forward as we maintain our sites to the highest standards."
