Pollution, Firewater and Flood Facts and Figures

The Environmental Damage (Prevention and Remediation) Regulations 2009

Full title: 2009 No. 153, Environmental Protection, England, The Environmental Damage (Prevention and Remediation) Regulations 2009, enforced March 1st 2009. is the official UK instrument that encompasses the requirements of the Environmental Liability Directive. A full copy of the document can be downloaded from the Office of Public Sector Information Website.OPSI Web Link

Environmental Liability Directive 2004/35/EC

In summary this new legislation applies the ‘polluter pays’ principle, to prevent and remedy environmental damage. It applies to all businesses large and small alike with unlimited fines and remediation costs. Directors can also be imprisoned for negligence under the Directive.

Note there is specific mention in the Directive that companies are obliged to use proactive prevention techniques and this fact has resulted in spill and firewater containment becoming a key part of a companies ISO14001 compliance audit.

Spill Kits - why are they of limited use for spill containment?

The answer is simple! Spill kits have a very limited capacity to absorb a major spill, they are not-recyclable and once used often are expensive to dispose of as they constitute hazardous waste. Converting the drainage system into a containment vessel enables the spill to be captured and drastically reduces the contaminated surface area. In many cases the contained spill can then be re-cycled using a vacuum pump and filters, a major win-win!

Major Accident Hazards Bureau (MAHB)

 The MAHB gives scientific and  technical support to the European Directorate General of the European Commission in support of the 96/82/EC Directive,the Seveso II Directive.

Adblue

The haulage industry regularly uses catalytic reduction agents such as Adblue to make their vehicles comply with the Euro 4 standards. These agents are soluble and if spilt can cause serious damage to the environment. The Environment Agency in November 2009 issued an notice concerning the handling and storing of Adblue which states clearly that site operators must have adequate spill containment apparatus installed to deal with a spill of Adblue, one of these devices being an inflatable drain stopping device. For more details please contact the Environment Agency or one of our Agents.

 

 

The European Civil Protection Body

The body is run by the European Commission for the protection of the environment in the event of major spills, fires or accidents. http://ec.europa.eu/environment/seveso/index.htm

Pollution Spill Containment

Where a spill is prevented from spreading using a form of barrier or guided into a specific location where it is contained for re-cycling

Fire water containment

Fire water containment is the process of containing (firewater) the run-off from fighting fires. Fire Water contains many hazardous substances which are the by-products of combustion which turns normally safe materials into toxic, polluting and environmentally damaging substances. The preferred method of fire water containment is to use pneumatic bladders / drain stoppers that block the outflow from the drain or pneumatic non-return valves both of which can convert the drains into containment vessels from which the fire water can be pumped away into tankers for safe disposal.

In Europe it is an offence under the European Environmental Directive 2004/35/EC and the long standing requirements of PPG11, PPG18 and PPG21!

Firewater Containment.

Firewater containment is the process of containing (fire water) the run-off from fighting fires. Firewater contains many hazardous substances which are the by-products of combustion which turns normally safe materials into toxic, polluting and environmentally damaging substances. The preferred method of firewater containment is to use pneumatic bladders / drain stoppers that block the outflow from the drain or pneumatic non-return valves both of which can convert the drains into containment vessels from which the firewater can be pumped away into tankers for safe disposal.

In Europe it is an offence under the European Environmental Directive 2004/35/EC and the long standing requirements of PPG11, PPG18 and PPG21!

How to protect against flooding?

Flooding through the drains is often the common point of entry after the doors and air bricks. However, flooding through the drains and sewers is often overlooked until it is too late. The Telestopper and Flapstopper can effectively protect your home and business by sealing the drain or toilet. Call today for more details.

What is Seveso?

In Europe, following the Seveso accident in 1976 prompted the adoption of legislation aimed at the prevention and control of such accidents. In 1982, the first EU Directive 82/501/EEC- so-called Seveso Directive - was adopted. On 9 December 1996, the Seveso Directive was replaced by Council Directive 96/82/EC,so-called Seveso II Directive. This directive was extended by the Directive 2003/105/EC. The Seveso II Directive applies to some thousands of industrial establishments where dangerous substances are present in quantities exceeding the thresholds in the directive.

Spill Mats

These are not often mistakenly used in attempts to contain spills to cover drains. They are of little use in the event of major spills and are absolutely dangerous to deploy in the case of spilt acids or other similar hazardous materials. Spill mats if used incorrectly can make a local spill become a major spill covering a large area. Better to let the spill enter the nearest drain and contain it there we say.

 Spill or Spillage

The term we apply to an accident whereby a chemical, oil, liquid or waste product such as sewage leaks or is discharged into the atmosphere, on to the ground, in a drainage system or water course/river.

Pollution

Anything that does not belong - poses a hazard to the environment.

A legally reportable "major spill" occurs when:-**

25 Litres of Oil or Fuel

25 Litres of Detergent - Washing Powder, Washing up Liquid etc

25 Litres of Disinfectant or Bleach etc25 Litres of Paint or Dyes

25 Litres of Cooking Oils, Glycerine or Alcohol25 Litres of Cutting Fluids or Water-Soluble Polymers

250 Litres of any foodstuff - milk, sauces, sugars, salt, syrups, cream, yogurts, vinegar etc.

250 Litres of any beverage including all soft drinks, beers, lagers, wines and spirits

250 Litres of any Organic Liquid - blood, offal, farmyard slurries, fire-fighting foam, sewerage and anti- freeze etc

500kg of sand, salt, cement, chalk, gypsum, plaster etc

Fines for a major spill can run into tens of thousands of Pounds/Euros/Dollars plus there are clean up costs and the cost of lost business due to interruption on top of this.

EA - Environment Agency a UK Government body which has the task of enforcing and monitoring environmental matters including the waterways and pollution.

WRC - Water Research Council a former UK government body that is now a public limited company. Its remit is to conduct research for and on behalf of private companies and the Water Industry.

The Pressure Equipment Directive - (97/23/EC) was adopted by the European Parliament and the European Council in May 1997. It has initially come into force on 29 November 1999. From that date until 28 May 2002 manufacturers have a choice between applying the pressure equipment directive or continuing with the application of the existing national legislation. From 29 May 2002 the pressure equipment directive will be obligatory throughout the European Union.
The directive provides, together with the directives related to simple pressure vessels (87/404/EC), transportable pressure equipment (99/36/EC) and Aerosol Dispensers (75/324/EEC), for an adequate legislative framework on European level for equipment subject to a pressure hazard. The cut off point of the pressure directive is 200 L bar, below which as simple risk assessment only need by applied.

PPG18:

Pollution Prevention Guidelines, The Environmental Alliance - Managing Firewater and Major Spillages

PPG21:

Pollution Prevention Guidelines, Incident Response Planning

Environmental Liability Directive 2004/35/EC

In summary this new legislation applies the ‘polluter pays’ principle, to prevent and remedy environmental damage. It applies to all businesses large and small alike with unlimited fines and remediation costs. Directors can also be imprisoned for negligence under the Directive.

Note there is specific mention in the Directive that companies are obliged to use proactive prevention techniques and this fact has resulted in spill and firewater containment becoming a key part of a companies ISO14001 compliance audit.

http://www.defra.gov.uk/environment/liability/

 

This legislation harmonises the responsibility across Europe for the protection of land, water, natural habitats and protected species is brought under the umbrella of a single piece of European legislation which introduces a broader scope of fines, forced remediation legal liabilities never previously seen across Europe, including a requirement for primary remediation, complementary remediation and compensatory remediation.

 

 

 

 

Fire Water Facts

 

!If your company employs five or more people you

must prepare a written Fire Risk Assessment

 

Quick response sprinklers release 8 to

24 gallons of water per minute

compared to 50 to 125 gallons per

minute released by a firehose.

 

A study conducted in Australia and New

Zealand covering 82 years of automatic

sprinkler use found that 82 percent of the

fires that occurred were controlled by two or

fewer sprinklers.

The total number of fires needing the

attendance of the fire and rescue service

in the UK in 2006 was 426,200 ( average

1,167 per day ).

 

Information from the local Fire

service gave an estimate of

500,000 litres of water per hour

to fight an average fire.

SPRINKLER SYSTEMS WILL USE

APPROX 341 gallons of water to control a

fire. Firefighters, on average, use 2,935. GALLONS

 

Hertfordshire Fire and Rescue

Service, had to set up and

maintain containment of the fire

water and foam run off from the

Buncefield disaster.

At the height of the incident

250000 litres of foam and 25

million litres of water were

used.