A medical waste plant previously at the centre of Scotland's clinical waste crisis has gone up in flames.
Dark clouds of smoke billowed from the industrial unit at Mossbell Road, Bellshill, on Friday morning and thick fumes were visible for miles.
No casualties have been reported at the site run by Tradebe Healthcare and people have been warned to avoid the area.
The company picked up a 10-year contract to remove waste from hospitals, pharmacies, GP surgeries and dental practices across Scotland after the collapse of Healthcare Environmental Services (HES) in December 2018.
But Spanish-owned Tradebe Healthcare were soon embroiled in their own clinical waste pile-up controversy with the NHS as the company was hit by red tape delays.
The £10 million per year contract was initially meant to start in April 2019 after hundreds of tons of toxic material including body parts, syringes and blood had been stockpiled following the HES collapse.
But Tradebe's purpose-built site did not open until December 2019.
It can treat up to 80 tonnes of medical waste per day using "state of the art technology", the firm has said.
Tradebe confirmed a fire broke out inside its facility at around 8am but said "it is too early to speculate as to the cause".
The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service was called to the scene shortly after 8am and firefighters are currently using nine fire engines and two aerial rescue pumps to tackle the blaze.
Gordon Beattie, director of national procurement at NHS National Services Scotland (NSS), said: "NSS is aware of the fire at a facility operated by our clinical waste partner Tradebe.
"Tradebe have kept us fully informed and we are working in partnership to ensure that their alternative arrangements are in place to protect service."
A Tradebe spokeswoman said: "An incident occurred today at approximately 8am on the Tradebe site at Bellshill when a fire broke out inside our facility.
"The fire brigade are in attendance and are working to bring the fire under control.
"All Tradebe colleagues were safely evacuated and everyone is accounted for.
"At this stage we are collating all the available information on the incident and it is too early to speculate as to the cause."
A Scottish Fire and Rescue Service spokesperson said: “We were alerted at 8.11am on Friday, July 9 to reports of a fire affecting an industrial unit at Mossbell Road, Bellshill.
“Operations Control mobilised nine fire appliances, two aerial rescue appliances and specialist resources, and firefighters are continuing to tackle the well-developed fire.
“As there is a large amount of smoke, people in area are advised to keep windows and doors closed. Drivers and pedestrians are also advised to avoid the area as roads around the scene remain closed and to allow access for emergency service vehicles.
“There are no reported casualties at this time.”
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