A CHEMICAL company prosecuted after a serious pollution incident has been praised for improving its environmental record.

Huntsman Petrochemicals was highlighted in an Environment Agency report which examined good and bad business performance.

The company, which has two sites on Teesside, has completed a £3m project to install protective lining around storage tanks since a leak two years ago.

It was fined £23,000 for breaches of the Environmental Protection Act after 100 tonnes of benzene escaped from a tank on the Greatham site into the River Tees.

The report, released today, revealed the company had also achieved significant reductions of emissions.

Environment Agency support team leader Howard Strutton said: "It is important to recognise the effort Huntsman has made since 2001 on improving their site's infrastructure.

"This example clearly demonstrates that companies can benfit from making environmental improvements, and not just by avoiding big fines.

"Ultimately, their actions have meant better air quality for the people of Teesside, and an improved environment for future generations."

The report also highlights work at Great Lakes Manufacturing (UK) Limited, of Newton Aycliffe, County Durham, since it was fined £10,000 for a leak last year.

Six people needed hospital treatment after bromine, used to make flame-retardant building material, escaped from the factory.

Bob Pailor, the Environment Agency's environment manager for the Tees Valley area, said: "We have been working with the company, trying to get to the root of the cause and they have recently announced investment to reduce emissions.

"Big business has done an awful lot of work and they are sorting out their act.

"Industry in the Tees Valley has spent a lot of money in the past ten years to reduce emissions to water and air, but it is crucial that what they have got is managed.

"The message is: You are doing a great job, but make sure you have got proper systems in place to identify when things go wrong."