COMPANIES in the region which have failed to reduce emissions have been named and shamed by the Environment Agency.

A report on good and bad performance by businesses across the country has been produced by the agency to highlight those who did not work to have a green emissions policy.

Nationally, the average fine given to businesses rose from £6,800 in 1999 to £8,532 in 2000.

Almost 700 businesses and individuals across the country were prosecuted by the Environment Agency for serious pollution offences which endangered the public or environment.

Companies punished included Northumbrian Water, Yorkshire Water and East Rising Farm Produce, of Melbourne, near York.

Although the Environment Agency stressed that many larger companies had invested to improve the quality of their emissions, there was still a need to change their habits.

The farm produce company was fined £32,000, with £522 costs, for allowing waste from its potato processing operations to pollute a watercourse.

Northumbrian Water was fined £3,500 with £2,518 costs for two separate pollution cases in County Durham, which included the release of sewage into waterways.

Yorkshire Water was fined £6,000, with £4,078 costs, for allowing raw and untreated sewage to reach waterways in Huddersfield and Doncaster.

Barbara Young, the Environment Agency's chief executive, said: "Businesses must understand their responsibilities to the public and to the environment."

Although it is now under new ownership, the Tioxide Europe plant, on Teesside, was fined £150,000 last year for an incident in 1999.

An acid spill into the Tees estuary resulted in a huge operation to reduce the impact on the area which is a site of Special Scientific Interest.

Among the companies praised in the report were Uniquema, of Wilton, near Middlesbrough, which reduced some of its most ecologically-unsound emissions into the River Tees by 512 per cent. This reduction had cost the company £250,000.

Blue Circle Industries, of Bishop Auckland, also reduced its emissions of 21 per cent at their Weardale works to help improve local air quality.