News

The Australian government has condemned the Thai company responsible for the country’s worst ever offshore oil spill.

A report released last Wednesday stated that had the company observed “sensible oilfield practices” the spill would not have occurred.

The Montana oil spill in 2009 was caused by a blow-out on the West Atlas oil rig, which resulted in approximately 2,000 barrels of oil a day flowing into Timor Sea for more than 70 days.

The Australian government criticised the regulator PTT Exploration & Production for not doing its job properly. Part of the report which criticised the regular stated that there were deficiencies in systems and processes and personnel were lacking in basic skills. It also stated that there were serious problems with the company procedures which directly led to the blow-out.

The well was finally plugged on the fifth attempt in November 2009. The oil slick covered an area of 35,000² miles and affected the coastlines of Indonesia and East Timor. Current spill clean-up costs are estimated to be in excess of $319m.

As you may have noticed at the end of November, weather conditions are starting to go the same way as last year in terms of unprecedented levels of ice, sleet and snow.

This winter’s freezing temperatures are virtually guaranteed to create operational problems for most businesses, especially firms dealing with hazardous materials or those where health and safety issues are paramount.

With these issues in mind, it is crucial that site managers take steps to prepare for the upcoming winter weather. As shown by last year’s weather - predicted by the Met Office as a “barbecue” winter - you never can tell how severe conditions will become. This is why precautionary measures taken now are so important, no matter how unnecessary they may seem at the time.

With this in mind, one of the best things you can do to prepare for winter is to start looking for reliable rock salt suppliers, and make sure to get more bags of grit than you think you will need. This will ensure that your site can remain both functional and safe in practically any weather conditions we may experience this winter.

It’s important to be prepared in case of a damaging spill. And the Maritime & Coastguard Agency (MCA) helped officers from Torridge District Council do just that last week on the beach at Bideford.

The training exercise helped the council officers to prepare for a severe coastal pollution incident on the Devon coast, by giving them two days of intensive training using booms and other spill prevention and clean up devices.

The River Torridge was the setting for the practical training with council officers from a range of local councils including Somerset County Council, Teignbridge District Council, East Devon Council, Plymouth City Council, Devon County Council and North Devon Council taking part. The course participants learned valuable skills, including how to clean up an oil damaged shoreline, health and safety requirements and how to manage waste oil.

Councillor Andrew Saywell who is Torridge’s lead member for Public Protection and Health and Safety stated:

“It was a very worthwhile exercise and a great example of multi-agency working. Hopefully none of the officers will ever have to do this for real, but at least now if they do they will be well equipped to handle such an emergency.”

If you use hazardous liquids at your industrial site, you will need to make sure that they are stored correctly so that you comply with the current health and safety regulations.

Hazardous storage cabinets are designed to hold all sorts of different hazardous materials, from containers of acids and alkalis to pesticides. All are manufactured to comply with current British Standards and can be colour coded so you know what substance is stored where.

Hazardous substance safety cabinets should be able to withstand fire penetration for 30 minutes and comply with the Factory Inspectorate Certificate of Approval No 1: Parts 3 & 4 and be COSHH approved.

All the cabinets have adjustable shelves and are available in different sizes depending on your individual needs, with a storage capacity from 15 litres to 50 litres. They have a high visibility powder coating and conform to BS5378.

Because they are fitted with a three point locking system the cabinets can be looked after by a designated key holder. This means the liquids cannot be used by personnel who are not trained in the handling of hazardous liquids. Choose from green for pesticides, red for protective equipment, white for acid and alkali storage and yellow for flammable storage.

The parents of a 21-year-old girl who died in a road accident in July 2009 have said that an oil spill on the road should have been cleared.

Jessica Foxley, her boyfriend Tom Petty and friend Philip Wright all lost their lives in the accident, which occurred when their speeding Ford Focus lost control on a bend on Skipton Old Road in Colne. The car is believed to have been travelling at 72mph, and collided with a dry stone wall after the driver lost control.

It was later found that there was an oil spill on the road the trio were travelling on at the time of the incident. At an inquest recently, it was revealed that the spill was caused by hydraulic fluid leaking from a forage harvester. Although not a large spill in terms of quantity, it was spread over quarter of a mile on the road.

A team of contractors immediately took action to clear up the spill, using sand rather than more conventionally used absorbents or oil spill kits.

However, Ms Foxley’s parents have criticised the quality of the spill control job and the effectiveness of the material chosen to clear up the spill, questioning whether the sand used was enough to fully absorb the fluid.

The grieving couple raised their complaint after coroner Richard Taylor recorded an inquest verdict stating that it was likely to have been a combination of the speed the car was travelling at and the spill on the road that caused the accident.

At sites where potentially hazardous or toxic material is stored or handled, safety precautions are always necessary, all year round. However, even if your site is fully prepared with emergency spill kits, safety signs and personal protective equipment, you are likely to encounter new challenges when winter comes around.

The winter season is already upon us, bringing freezing temperatures, ice and snow. This can play havoc with health and safety at your site, so to protect employees and equipment, extra site maintenance measures may be needed.

Luckily, after dangerous weather last year, the country and its environmental control product suppliers are more prepared than in previous years. This means you have access to a wider range of de-icing equipment, and it is strongly recommended that you take advantage of this.

Bearing in mind the dangers and hazards of last year’s winter, you should be thinking of equipping your site one or more of the following:

• A healthy supply of rock salt or other gritting material

• Industrial salt spreaders or grit bins

• Frost blankets (mainly used in construction industries for protecting concrete)

• Snow shovels (always a handy tool in an emergency)

A liquid spill from a lorry in North Yorkshire caused a busy roundabout on the A59 to be closed last Wednesday evening.

The roundabout on the A59, which is the one that links the road with the M1 motorway at Allerton Park, was closed at about 6.15pm after a red liquid was spilled after a package fell off the back of a lorry. The road in question is one of North Yorkshire’s busiest, so huge delays were caused by the closure.

Specialist spill control and monitoring equipment had to be brought to the scene from West Yorkshire so the spill could be analysed before being cleaned. It was not known if the spilled liquid contained chemicals or if it was hazardous to health.

The Environment Agency attended the scene along with the police and fire crews from nearby stations.

Spill control equipment

Having the right spill control equipment to hand is of paramount importance. In cases such as the above, specialist equipment needed to be used to clean the spill so it was safe to open the road again. If you have hazardous chemicals at your industrial site, it’s worth investing in the right spill control equipment such as absorbents to deal with the hazardous substance should you have a spill.

If you use IBCs at your industrial site, you will need a safe way to store them that meets current hazardous liquid storage regulations.

Bunded IBC storage is available in a range of different sizes, suitable for the storage of a differing number of IBC storage containers. All meet the Control of Pollution Regulations and meet PPG26 from the Environment Agency’s Pollution Prevention Guidelines.

IBC storage benefits

IBC stores are exceptionally durable and can withstand the rigours of being sited outdoors during harsh weather conditions. Being bunded, they are the perfect way to prevent spills from the IBC polluting the surrounding area as the spill will be contained within the bund.

Door options on the exterior of the containers include roller shutter doors and sliding doors with both options lockable. They are designed for the storage of standard 1000 litre IBCs and are fitted with crane lifting eyes so can be lowered into any position on your industrial site.

Bunded IBC storage containers can hold up to 24 IBCs, depending on the model you choose, and are the perfect way to control the hazardous liquid substances you use at your industrial site.

As the chilly winter days set in, users of heating oil are being asked to check their oil tanks for leaks by Wessex Water.

Users of heating oil have a responsibility to check their heating oil tanks for points where oil can escape. And it’s usually at this time of year, when the tanks are filled ahead of the winter season, that most homeowners notice they have a problem.

However, the spillage of heating oil can have detrimental effects on the environment, not to mention the pocket of the homeowner who has lost the oil.

Wessex Water’s operation Streamclean pollution spokesperson Larry Spiers has commented that a user’s heating oil supply can be lost in a matter of days as a result of a spill.

He stated:

"Not only does this have serious environmental implications, it can also put a financial strain on those who will have to replace the lost oil in order to heat their homes,"

He also stated that if homeowners are unsure about the condition of their tank or whether they have a leak, they should consult a qualified engineer.