The Bulletin – August 1993

Journal of the Association for Petroleum and Explosives Administration

The wrong underground

p1p1ng material could put your entire business in the hole.

If you're rebuilding your station, you're probably in a rush for th e pip e to be in the ground and te sted so you can get on with your real business of selling fuel.

But don ' t forget to take a close look at your choice of piping materials.

Here are three things to think about when you choose between 'hard ' piping like Dualo y®3000/L and the 's oft' system that 's just come on the market.

For starters, there's fluid h a mmer. Topping off can ca us e pressure spikes of 20 atm or more Soft systems us e th e rmoplastic hoses in the primary with safety factors of 3: 1 or less. That's not a lot of margin for failure. With Dualoy 3000/L rigid-w all fiber glass pipe from Am e ron yo u get a safety factor of over 10 :1.

Seco nd , there's UL-listin g. Soft system containm e nt do es n ' t have it. Wouldn't yo u want the assuranc e of a

ril:'\

Underwriters

third party like UL th a t th e co nt a inment can prevent so il co nt a mination in case of a leak? You have that assuranc e with Du a loy 3000/L. Nex t, th e re's retestabili ty. Hose sys te m s give you soft containment a nd sump penetration s that rely on soft fl exible boot s with minimal pressure capabilities. With so ft co ntainment it' s a chore to re test the system once in se rvice- if you can ret est a t all. Dualoy 3000 / L pro vid es rigid wall. adhesive b o nd ed co nt a inment and sump penetrations with an int er s titial spac e that' s unbrok en from pump to di sp e n ser : yo u ca n re te st th e e ntir e sys tem in a jiffy so yo u 'II know it 's reall y wo rkin g.

J We can tell yo u a lo t m o re abou t the diffe rences be twee n 's oft' and ' h a rd ' buried fu e l sys te m s Fo r your ow n peace of mind , ge t the wh o le sto ry by gi vin g u s a telephone ca ll at 023 3 613 884. Today. Yo ur bu s in ess is too imp orta nt to take a c han ce on a n ything th a n the proven best: Dualo y 3000 / L from Am ero n

In 1968 Underwriters Laboratories Inc. granted our Red Thread pipe the first-ever listing for underground fiberglass piping of petroleum products. Since then more than 20 million feet have been installed far more than any other f iberglass brand With a performance record unsurpassed by anyone and vastly superior to " holey" steel as you c an see!

SHORT COURSES

COMPLETION SCHEDULE for recording details

installed equipment, with check list £9.40

COMPLETION CERTIFICATE for compliance wilh

Wiring Regulations 1Sth or 16th Edn please slate

TIGHT.

Wheaton UK Limited 12 Station Road , Did cot, Oxon, OX11 7LN Telephone: 0235 510888 Fax: 0235 510524

The work on the revision of HS(G)41 has been completed n_o_w for almost four months and Industry have been wa1tmg for some time for the chance to comment on the document before it is published. The delays in pubhshmg the document appear to be due to change of personnel, and some fear that the deregulation exercise may have some profound effect on that draft.

There is only one way to see what Industry and others thmk of the draft send it out for publ' t The HSE · d" h . 1c commen m enng over this issue is only making it extremely diffi_cult for Industry to formulate their policies on ho"". to their filling stations in the future also uncertamty will prevail as petroleum licensing to the old HS(G)41 which was out of date before it was prmted.

SPOTLIGHT ON FORECOURT INNOVATION

Around 400 service station engineers, suppliers, contractors and regulators from around the world will attend this year's APEA seminar.

With the focus on environmental protection intensifying, the theme of the 1993 seminar is: "Innovation in fuel delivery systems." The event takes place at the Metropole Hotel and Conference Centre, NEC, Birmingham on Tuesday, September 21.

Delegates will hear authoritative presentations from leading forecourt system users and manufacturers on developments that are reshaping the retail petrol industry. In particular, important changes in Britain's HS(G)41 regulations and European environmental legislation will be reviewed, together with latest technical innovations which meet existing or proposed regulatory requirements.

keynote address be delivered by Stuart Howell, Retail Manager, BP Otl UK. The morning session will examine petrol retailing construction issues. The session will with a look at relevant developments in the Amencan market and a glimpse into the future.

The .afternoon session will tum the spotlight on advances m service station pipework. It will be followed by an open discussion forum.

!he will be supported by a major two-day exhibition, which opens its doors on Monday, September 20. l 00 companies, including a strong overseas contmgent, will display their products and services.

"With petrol retailing construction and operation being re-shaped by the advance of environmental and safety legislation, the seminar and exhibition present a significant opportunity to view the full scope of current and forthcoming regulatory and technical developments," said APEA Chairman, Michael Lugg.

GOVERNMENT GOES TO WAR ON RED TAPE

Michael Heseltine, President of the Board of Trade, has unleashed the private sector in a two-pronged attack on red tape. Seven task forces from outside Whitehall will mount an onslaught on over 7,OOO regulations which affect companies.

At a two hour seminar held in February at IO Downing Street, the Prime Minister, John Major, said that effmts to cut Government regulations had not gone far enough.

Ministers agreed:

that no further regulations will be imposed on Britain's companies unless the cost to them is spelled out before being put to Parliament;

task forces of businessmen will re-examine decades of regulation in pursuit of the Government's determination to lighten the administrative load on the wealth creating sector.

The task forces of business people from both large and small firms will work closely with Lord Sainsbury, Mr Heseltine's deregulation advisor.

Speaking today, Mr Heseltine, who is spearheading this new deregulation drive, said:

"There is general agreement across Government that the time has come to weed out the sort of regulation which is over-bureaucratic and places excessive burdens on business and on the public.

"It is not enough to single out a group of conspicuous regulations. We intend to go back over the whole ranae in detail. "'

"A certain amount of regulation is essential, not least to ensure public safety and to promote quality standards. But these benefits have to be weighed against the costs of enforcing regulation and complying with it."

The task forces will cover the following sectors:

food drink and agriculture communications/transport construction (including associated professions) engineering industries chemicals and pharmaceuticals financial services other than those covered by the SIB review other services including tourism and petroleum retailing

They will systematically review all 7,000 regulations, working with Departments. Their aim will be to make regulations simpler and to abolish them whenever possible. Some subjects may require separate in-depth study, like the implementation of EC Directives into UK law, which is currently under examination, with the help of the Efficiency Unit.

The Prime Minister and Mr Heseltine have asked for progress reports from the task forces every eight weeks.

It was also agreed that all future proposals for new regulations must be accompanied on publication by an assessment of the costs to business of complying with them.

Individual Government Departments outlines at the seminar deregulatory work completed since April 1992 and proposals for future deregulation.

Commenting on the deregulation initiative. Mr Heseltine said:

"The work which departments have in hand is a useful first step. But it is not enough. A much more detailed pmgramme of action is required if we are to rid husines-. of unnecessary costs and help them L'ompete more effectiveh. We cannot of course expect to shift the burden of lation at a stroke. It is a huge task and v.ill take time." c-

QUALITY MEETS QUALITY AT HINTLESHAM HALL

BS5750 ACCREDITATION FOR COOKSON AND ZINN LIMITED

Cookson a nd Zinn , who led the field in the development of the Double Skin Steel Tank and, since then in its manufacture , are proud to announce that they have recently gained BS5750 part l/IS09001 accreditation.

Although the company has had a documented quality system in force for many years as their existing customers already reali se , quality is synonymous with CZ they are understandably very proud of their well earned ' offici al s ta mp of approval'.

It would have been ea sy for the company to sit back and reap the benefits from the development and manufacture of the double s kin s teel tank, since they first launched the product back in 19 89. However, they felt th a t this should not be the case

A s marke t leaders it is their design for the doubl e skin s teel tank w hich ha s been adopted by mo st of the m ajor oil c omp a nie s throughout the UK they firmly believe that where e n v ironm e nt a l prote ction is concerned , no compromi se o n qu ality is can be allowed.

Protec ti o n of the e nvironm e nt is vitally importa nt and the e nvi ro nm e nt a l press ures from Petroleum Auth oritie s and the O il Comp a ni es th e m se lv es is unders ta ndably s trong. To e n s ure th a t th ey produ ce the ultim a te in qu a lity, Cook son a nd Z inn have wo rk e d very c lo se ly with the se bodie s and a lso m a ny o th e r pe o pl e co nn ec ted w ith fo reco urt deve lopm e nt.

C ookso n a nd Z inn asse mbl e and a li g n th e inn e r tan k , w hi c h is m a nu fact ure d in acco rd a nce with 8 52 594 , o n th e ir a ut omate d De um a syste m T he seco nd a ry s k.in is we ld ed around i t leav in g a n inte rs titi a l s pace of app rox im a te ly 1mrn A ll e xte rn a l s urfaces are full y bl as t c lea ned , whi c h is t h e on ly re a ll y e ffect ive m et ho d of s ur face pre para ti o n fo r t h e coat ing an d coated w it h so lve nt free pol y ure than e. T hi s c oat in g prov ides e xce ll e nt co rros io n pro

tection, as well as beina extremely d bi f k h dl "' ura e or tan anmg.

The inner tank is hydraur II1ca Y tested and the interstitial space between the skins is filled w"th I 1 mono propylene glyco which itself is a non-contaminant A 1 ak d b · e etect1on system can e supplied, if required.

Cookson and Zinn provide wn"tt fi en con 1rmat1on and guaranfteesfon a_nd finish in the form of a certificate o con orffilty, which 1s delivered ·th h WI eac tank.

!he company is also represented within the British delegat10n to the European Standards Cornm;tt h. h f h uurn ees, w 1ch are lil t e process o ac 1evmg a minimum prod t d throughout Europe. uc esign standard

EXPLOSIVES ACT 1875 VEHICLE AIR BAGS

Brian Taylor is representing the Association in talks with H S E Explosives Branch and a con s ultant for Ford Motor Co and General Motors to discu ss the :torage and transport of inflatable alf bag s and seat belt tens10ners fitted to modern day vehicle s

The area s being discussed include Storage in dealer outlets

Tran s port

Importation

UK cla ss ifi ca tion/Authori sation

Further information

Th e c urre nt view of the HSE is that if o nly one a ir b 0 modul e is ke pt in a dealers store the premi ses s hould Reg is te red und e r th e E xpl os ive Ac t 1875 ,

S ho uld a ny M e mb e r require a ny further in fo rmati o n or h ave a ny view s o n th e s ubje c t th ey sh o uld co ntac t Brian Tay lo r c/o 048 0 4573 44 day o r 058 0 882 170 eve ning s th e las t numb e r is also a fax

REHABILITATION

Conoco's Crown service station in Sheffield is now one of the most modem in the country with state of the art environmental protection and alert systems on the double skinned underground tanks and pipework. This is a significant transfomrntion from the situation Conoco (JET) inherited when they took over the site in 1991.

They quickly discovered the aesthetically pleasing appearance hid a plethora of infrastructure problems and environmental liabilities. The situation came to a head when installing a new underground tank, fuel was found pouring into the excavation

Conoco called in Land Restoration Systems to advise on the pollution problem. As the investigation proceeded, significant groundwater and soil contamination was identified together with an unlicensed drinking water borehole Furthermore, drainage discharge from this site was exceeding the National Rivers Authority discharge consent.

Conoco and LRS convened briefing meetings with the regulat?ry authorities, including the Petroleum Licensing Authonty, the NRA and the Environmental Health Department, to explain the problems identified and the solutions proposed.

The site has now been substantially rebuilt and incorporates a groundwater remediation system designed by L.R.S. Contaminated groundwater will be pumped through a superceptor and an airstripping tower to reduce the contamination to a concentration agreed with the N.R.A. LRS has also supervised the testing and licensing of the water borehole.

Land Restoration Systems is proud of the company's involvement in this challenging project. The successful reopening of the site demonstrates Conoco's commitment to address environmental liabilities to co-operate fully with the regulators

Contact: John Waters LRS Operations Manager

INSTITUTE OF PETROLEUM CONFERENCE ON VAPOUR EMISSIONS

The IP are holding a one day conference on November 25th on the requirements of the forthcoming EC stage I and stage 2 directives. It will deal with the different options available to achieve compliance with the se dire ctives and the technical aspect s of implementing them. The speakers are all experts from within the Oil Indu stry who have practical experience in th e ir subject s . Th e co nference is aim e d at per so nn e l both within the Oil Indu stry involv ed in th e plannin g and pra c ti cal a pplication s of co ntrol meas ure s and authoritie s involv ed in the inte rpre tation of legi s lation and checking co mplian ce.

Th e re is a lso an Exhibition available for view in g at the In st itute o n Wed 24 November of eq uipm e nt used in co ntrol of va pour emi ss io ns.

The co nfe re nce is in London and details can be o btain ed from Ca ro lin e Littl e at th e IP on 071 636 I004

BRANCH MEETINGS

MIDLAND BRANCH

"The Midland Branch he ld it s summer meetin g and AGM on 24th June. The venue was sponsored b y th e Stafford s hire Fire & R esc ue Se rv ic e and he ld in their superb rural hea d quarters at Pirehill near Stone.

The cla y was cli vicle cl in h a lf with three prese ntation s in th e mornin g and the AGM a nd Bu s in ess sess ion in th e after no o n. Th e fir s t ta lk wa s g iv e n b y D. C. Ke ith Wiggin from Staffordshire and covere d two sepa rate road in vo lv in g full loads. th e fir st w he re the tanker crashed and ignit e d w ith th e res ultant loss o f a ll product. a nd the seco nd w he re th e ve hi c le ove rturn ed int o a fi e ld but ft1rtunat e lv nu fir e res ult e d a nd mo st product was recove red "

Mr. Malcolm Dodd from Wet Stock Se r v ices Ltd gave th e second prese ntati o n in w hi c h he cl es nih e d hi s

new reconciliation unit which generated HS(G)41 compliance statements. The final talk was by the Association Chairman, Mr. Mike Lugg who, as a member of the HS(G)4 l revision group, outlined the main changes proposed for the second edition of the guidance notes. Apparently a draft version _will be i? the near future for public comment before its final publication.

50 members attended the meeting and 46 excellent buffet lunches were laid on very efficiently by Staffordshire.

During the afternoon business session and AGM the following people were elected to the Midland Branch executive:

Branch Chairman: Mr. Chris Day Branch Secretary: Mr. Lindsay Lloyd Treasurer: Mr. Paul Taylor

Ordinary Committee members: Mr. D. Green, Mr. S. Proctor, Mr. A. Young and Mr. C. Stephenson.

Members decided that the next branch meeting would be held once the draft second edition of HS(G)41 had been released for comment, in order that all Midland branch members may have a chance to express their view on the content."

NORTH WESTERN BRANCH

On June 9th, the North West branch meeting was held at 'The Firs" near Altrincham. Forty members attended the meeting which had the theme "Can we hold our liquid".

Speakers from the industry presented the meeting with an overview as well as specialist views on the technology, materials and history of metallic and non-metallic tanks and pipework.

Mr Malcolm Griffiths, Managing Director of Fibre Reinforced Products set out the development of G.R.P. tanks and how they were manufactured to suit the products of today. Much discussion and questioning naturally arose from this presentation as this meeting followed the issue of The Bulletin Volume 31 No. 2, where the continuing publicity of G.R.P. versus steel tanks was once again highlighted.

Mr Clive Anderson, Product Manager of Wefco, comprehensively illustrated the developments of Wefc? and manufacturing techniques for steel tanks. The d1scuss1on led on to composite material tanks and the experiences of these materials.

Mr John Boudry. Managing Director of Petrotechnik. presented the case for U.P.P. pipework illustrating the properties and installation procedures for this pipework system.

Unfortunately. due to a last minute commitment. Mr Richard Graham. petroleum Market Manager for Ameron. was unahle to attend the meeting and give his pre'lentalion for fihre glass pipework systems.

All 1he presentations were enthusiastically received and llt1r 1hanks are extended to all the speakers.

YORKSHIRE AND HUMBERSIDE BRANCHAGM

Approximately forty members attended the above meeting held at Red Hart, Blyth on 6 April 1993.

The following officers were elected to serve the branch for 1993/94:

Chairman Treasurer Secretary Auditor

Clive Sweeting David Jones Philip Lusmore Peter Walker

A presentation was made by the Chairman to Colin Horsburgh who retired from the post of Secretary.

The morning presentation was given by Clive Anderson and John Jenkinson of Wefco Group Limited, who gave detailed talks on the company's history and the production process of double skinned tanks.

The afternoon presentation was given by Rodney Carter of ManData Products introducing the Petrolman stock management and control system.

It is hoped to arrange a visit for Branch Members to Wefco Group Limited's factory in Gainsborough.

EASTERN BRANCH MEETING 22ND JUNE, 1993

42 members attended the meeting held at the Cambridgeshire Trading Standards HQ. at Huntingdon.

The following guest speakers gave presentations as follows:-

1. Kevi_n Rutterford (National Rivers Authority) on the requirement to protect the ground water source.

2. B. D. Taylor (Cambs) on the need to obtain uniformity and the effects of de-regulation in the petroleum industry.

3. John Boudry (PetroTechnik) on non-corrosive pipework and its value to protect the ground water.

LUNCH

4. Mr Terry Rogers on the formula to use when calculating uplift pressures for underground petrol storage tanks.

5. Malcolm Collier (Norfolk Fire Service) for the safekeeping of petroleum spirit and the ground water.

The Chairman thanked all the speakers for their excellent presentations and for giving their time.

The Branch Secretary advised the members of the news from the National Council which included the 1993 Conference. which is to be held on 21 st September 1993 at the Birmingham Metropole Hotel. National Exhibition Centre.

There have been reported problems from a small number of recently constructed petrol filling stations using the Ameron Dualoy 3000L GRP pipe. The distinctive red pipe which has been marketed and used successfully in the USA and other parts of the world including the UK suddenly caused problems on a site constructed in the Manchester area. After installation and once in contact with the petrol the red dye which gives the product its distinctive colour came out in the petrol. The leeching of the dye was a new phenomena and caused much concern with the Oil Companies marketing the petrol and also regulatory authorities

One installation was delayed from opening for many weeks while testing was carried out, and an extensive flushing programme was instigated to remove the offending colour which one regulator described as a "deep burgundy" Another installation in the south of England had pipe work removed as this was not yet covered up and two other sites in London were also delayed from opening while a flushina b operation was earned out.

It would appear that the problem had occtmed due to a recent change of dye in the pipe during manufacture. All offending samples have been reported to have been removed from stockists in the UK and a dye free pipe is now marketed by the company. Tests carried out in the US and UK are reported to confirm that the characteristics of the pipe are unaffected and Ameron have announced that they would stand by their guarantee for the product. It is hoped that Ameron will be able to report more fully at a later date in the Bulletin when their reports have been finalised.

THE NEED FOR DRY BREAK

COUPLINGS

Earlier this year another incident occurred when a motorist's vehicle became entangled with the petrol pump hose at a major supermarket petrol station.

Nothing unusual, "It happens every day" some may say, but this incident had all the potential for a serious fire, due to the fact that when the vehicle drove off, not only was the pump head pulled over and the hoses split, releasing a quantity of petrol, but the 240 volt electrical cables were ripped out exposing all three bare ends. All this happened before the kiosk attendant could hit the emergency stop button on the console.

The cost of this incident must have been several hundred pounds for loss of earnings and repairs to the dispenser.

Surely, does it not make economic sense to retrofit dry break couplings to high throughput sites, such as supermarkets and major oil company sites? In fact, all petrol facilities would benefit.

The cost of retrofitting would be a lot less than the cost of the damage and so-called down time to these busy sites and would greatly improve the general safety of the public and the premises

Dear Editor,

PERMEATION AND FLEXIBLE NON-METALLIC PIPEWORK

I am grateful to Richard Graham for his letter in the last issue wherein he sets out to clarify and correct some of the statements made in my article in the previous issue. He is quite correct in pointing out that UPP is not the only non-metallic system to have accreditation by an independent European test house; Ameron Dualoy does too. My intention was to state that UPP was the only flexible non-metallic system to be so accredited. Unfortunately, in the article the word "flexible" was omitted, although it did appear in the title. My apologies.

So far as reprocessing of scrap is concerned, this does not necessarily mean reuse for the same original purpose as implied by Richard. Many materials are reprocessed for reuse in a secondary function which is better than the total waste and long term pollution problem of abandonment in place or just dumping.

The intention of my article was to put more and new information at the disposal of all readers; users and authorities alike. I was pleased to see in Talking Point that you reinforced the call I made in my penultimate paragraph for independent assessment of all systems based on European performance requirements and I am encouraged by the initiative being taken by the Institute of Petroleum in this. The sooner realistic performance standards based on actual operational needs are agreed and published the better.

I am pleased that my article elicited from Richard Graham further information about the Ameron product; the more factual information that is in the public domain the better understanding we will all have of the various merits of different enabling informed and rational decisions to be taken. Such a situation can only be to the benefit of the industry as a whole.

The article was written in an attempt to answer the sometimes accrimoneous and, I believe, often uninformed cnt1cism of polyethylene pipe which has been an unwelcome feature of some meetings in recent months. It was confined to UPP as that was the system on which I had information. As I'm sure you will recall Mr Editor, it was written at your invitation, in aood faith, and put forward the best information I had at my disposal at that time an which I believed was not general knowledge within the industry.

The letter from Mr Meerseman I must leave PetroTechnik to answer in detail; suffice it for me to point out that his is hased on a Swedish test report "of which we have obtamed a partial copy" and which he admits "does not provide any explanation or details relative to this weight loss figure". such incomplete and unsubstantiated "evidence'_' a permeation figure is adduced which is then claimed as authontat1ve!

Finally I was disappointed al Richard's that the rticle was ·•Jittle more than a Commercial for a manAs already t_hat was not the .I an enthusiastic supporter the aims of the. Associallon as. a fo1 f the advancement oJ knowledge and mterchange of mforma01 as ei1shrined in its Memorandum of Association and I shall uon · · · >11tinue to strive for the cessation of its use as a platl?rrn .or promotion or denigration of certain goods or services for commercial re<1sons alone.

Yours Sincerely Michael I.ugg.

Dear Editor, UPP PIPEWORK SYSTEM

I read the letter of Mr Meerseman of Enviroflex published in the last Bulletin with great interest.

In his letter Mr Meerseman made unsubstantiated claims concerning the permeability of the UPP pipework. The conclusion he and his company have drawn, based on his "knowledge in the field" are wrong and utterly without foundation.

I am pleased to advise you that the results of a 180 days test conducted by The Swedish Plant Inspectorate and witnessed by ERA of the the UK, using alcohol test liquids including both ethanol and methanol, showed that permeability of UPP to be will inside the 1% UL criteria. These tests were concluded in July of this year.

For the peace of mind of all petroleum officers, oil company engineers, specifiers and consultants I would like to take this opportunity to confirm than over 13 years of use in many countries and with over 1,000,000 metres installed in ground conditions varying from the hot sands deserts of Kuwait to the sub zero temperature conditions of Scandinavia where water is found everywhere, neither I nor any of those to whom UPP was supplied are aware of one iota of evidence that UPP has suffered any permeability problems at any time.

in this _time, we are not aware of the product ever havmg lost a smgle drop of product due to mechanical or _any other type of failure. A record second to none you will agree.

I note that in. his letter Mr Meerseman puts forward no the permeability of Enviroflex which is d1sappomtmg. I would suggest that what would be more to the market would be for him to publish ddata to system. For example, how oes it pe wit uels containing alcohols and what is the pos1t10n UL approval to that effect? 1s its resistance? And at what level of head loss 1s expenenced when using a suction system?

it is the answers to these and possibly other that your to see rather than speculation based on m1sconce1ved conclusions concerning competitive products.

The "comparative marketing" ploy used by our American colleagues is not only distasteful but is also wearing thin so many people have told me since your last Bulletin and I agree.

Information is what is badly needed not mis-information.

John Baudry

IMPLEMENTATION OF BS 7117

There is a growing concern about the implementation and the commercial impact of BS 7117 on petrol retailers, pump refurbishers and contractors. This concern is shared by sectors of the industry represented in the A.P.E.A. pump refurbishers and installation contractors.

It has been widely and rightly accepted that the intention of BS 7117 is to raise the standard of petrol dispensers and their installation on forecourts with an emphasis on quality and safety. Because of the lack of second hand BS 7117 dispensers on the market, the difficulty in bringing many existing pumps up to BS 7117 specification and the high cost of new pumps, the result is that the standard and quality of dispensers is actually getting worse Many small petrol retailers cannot afford expensive new dispensers and hence are retaining old dispensers which will only continue to deteriothis deterioration can also be attributed to poor quality mamtenance

Woul_d it not seem _ reasonable for the H.S.E. to grant a i:iorat?num for _a_ penod of say, five years, to allow local hcencmg the discretion to permit a Jicencee to upgrade !11S dispensers by replacing existing units with more mode1:n models f!·om the last range supplied by manufacturers pnor to the implementation of BS 7117? A limit to a range or of dispensers from the manufacturers would allow hcencees to improve their sites economically

If in this period, only BS 5750 accredited contractors were engaged in this work, then there is an assurance of quality. As Iicencing authorities have no mechanism for

assessing contractors , BS 5750 is a third party assessment of a company's ability.

The continued use of BS 5750 accredited contractors the would e_nsu:e the long term prospects of quality and assist m the objective of cleaning up the industry

By the end of the moratorium period, BS 7117 pumps would have come onto the second-hand resale market and would be readily available for licencees to up!rrade their sites to the required standards. 0

From the proposals, the objectives of the H.S.E. and BS 7117 are met within a defined timescale and the foundations are put in place for a quality led industry.

HReid PUMP SERVICES (MANCHESTER) LTD

EDITORIAL NOTE

The Council of the APEA fully supports the safety ideals behind BS 7117 and also supports full complian c e with BS 7117 part 3 on refurbished pumps.

ft is essential that an y se c ond hand or rework ed pump has the same safety check as a new pump , and this should include some form of control by the certifying authority Baseefa The APEA would also support discussions on a way forward on this issue with all interested parties , and while recognising th e c ommercial problems this may ca use some companies would remind m e mb ers of its ideals of pro moting safety and uniformity of enforce ment.

Dear Editor,

RIPPING YARN

I enclose a photo whi c h I took of Bedford shire which was be ing site 111 Luton ,

r was amazed to see th at th e o ld petro l t k - .f h I d an s on th e sur face looked as 1 t ey 1a ex pl oded. whicl1 : ' I was , o l co urse no t the case. Howeve1 was co ncerned th at th t k · d ' e an s ma y ha ve ju st bee n npp e ope n with o ut any de-gass in g of th e ve sse ls beforehand.

1 Op1mo n this ph oto w ill not g ive co nfid e nce to n my , I el so ns who li ve ne ar th e petrol sta tion as to the ge n t 1ose p _ · cl I t' ty of wo rk be m o ea rn ed o ut o n pe trol stations u1 era. sa e o in 0 re- deve lopm e nt s b

I can o nl y as sum e that prop e r arran ge m e nt s had bee n car ri ed out pri or to th e tank s be in g ripp ed o pen. If not. w hat h as happ ened to o ur stand ard s?

Is thi s th e standard we ca n ex pec t from th e all ege d com pete nt co nt rac to rs''

HYDROPHOBIC FOAMING PRODUCTS TO ASSIST WITH THE MANAGEMENT OF UNDERGROUND FUEL TANKS

By Geoff Wheeler

An exciting range of hydrophobic foaming products commonly used on the Continent is now available in the UK to assist with the management of underground fuel storage tanks.

The first UK applicator has been appointed, Tanksafe Limited, and has commenced the permanent neutralisation of a number of underground storage tanks. The hydrophobic foaming product in use in th at instance is identified by its product code of RG22 which indicates a pressure resistance of 2 2 kilograms per square centimetre.

RG22 is specified by most of the major oi l companies for the neutralisation of fuel storage tanks in Germany, Holland, Belgium and France and was fir st developed for use in neutralising heating oil tanks when Holland changed over to natural gas for the same purpose. Literally tens of thousands of tanks have now been neutrali sed and when a filling station either closes or no longer needs some of its existing tankage then it is standard practice to use RG22 to solve the problem.

Th e hydrophobic ne utrali sa ti o n fo am is produc e d from ure um fo rmaleide re s in , th e white c oloure d foam havin a a b to ra pidl y ab sorb vaii o us s ub sta nc es with hi g h spe c 1f1c we ig ht and in particular hydrocarbon s. E ven the ta nk res idu a ls s weating from th e ta nk wa ll s will be absorbed and fi xe d by th e foam during injec tion whi c h e liminates all safe ty ri sks a nd ri sks to the environment.

To e ns ure quality control, the product is mixed in the facto ry in Holland and delivere d by tanker to Tanksafes premis es at Milton Keynes where th e res in mix is transfen-ed to a storage ta nk.

Applic a tion is from a sp ec ia lly e quippe d vehicle which mi xes a combination of res in , hard e ner, water and a ir Th e produ c t is injected directl y into th e fill pipe of the tank , it no t bein g nece ss ary to remo ve th e m anhol e c over.

Onc e th e foam is seen to e m e rge fr om the vents or if the vent are disconnecte d a temporary the op e_nmg is capped off and the fo am c o ntinu e s to be injected until a pre ss ure of 1.5 bar is reach e d . Provided an identical or number of litres than th e cap acity of the tank h as bee n di sp e nsed the fill pipe is th e n c apped off Th" th d I · 1s e n pro v1 es a n 1erme t1c se al which is part of th t I. . b·i· e proce ss o e 1mmate any po ss 1 1 Jty of shrink age.

Tes ts by the Dutch Wa ter Authorit y R J E bi h . d" e searc 1 sta 1s ment m 1cate that at the no rm a l temperature of an und e rg round tank say 8 deg rees th e re is the pos ·b i·t f f 101 I SI I 1 yo a o io s How e ve r, this pos s ibility is e ltmm ate d by the application of the 1 5 bar of m e ntion e d above. · pressure as

Th e o th e r maJ·or advant aaes f tl · · c b o 1e press un s at1on meth o d 1s th a t a ll c av1t1e s w 1th111 th e re dund a nt ta nk f"ll d 1·k h . . 1 ai e 1 e un 1 e t e s1tu at1 o n wit 1 a s lu 1,-y mi x o r sa nd h. 1 1 vo id s. w 1c 1 ca n eave

Th e sa me Dutch te st ho uses i d d h re m a in stable fo. t I n icate t at the fo a m will inte nt s a nd purp10 a 15 0 yea rs thu s en s urin g to a ll future th e tank ne ut ra li s ation. If in th e 0 e 1e m o ve d tl · · · I Ji a ht a nd ca n be di spo d 1e n 1t 1s compai at1v e y b se o f 111 th e . I Id . m e th od, e ither on site or at d" no1 ma co cuttm g c a 1sposa l ai·ea

If th e ta nk wa s cl e aned wh it w ill no t co nt a in haza rd o e n th e foa m was inject ed , th e n dumpin g is pe rmitted. In s ub s ta nces and fre e waste as a so il fertili se r a nd in thi s / ca n be brok e n up a nd use d Co ntin e nt in gard e n c e ntres. o rm is co mmonl y so ld o n th e

If ho weve r th e ta nk is no t c l th e ta nk w ill be cl e an du e to thea nbe d befo re fillina . a lth o u a h ea s · b · b a ls, th e fo am w ill nee d to be ha di o rpti o n o f all th e res idu no rm a ll y burn e d in an e el as ha zardou s w as te a nd

It is no t no rm a l to re m ove th e , RG22 res m/ hai cl e ner m1 x but .t foa m fro m a ta nk in th e I . I I ca n be d . steam c ea nm g 01 t 1rou g h the use of o ne e ith e r throu g h co mpresse d a ir

W he re pe rman e nt ta n k re mo 1 1 RG 8 . va is s pec if d pro du c t ta1111 Y is e m p loyed W . ie an o th e r of th e pro pe rties to RG 22 wi th th e id e nti ca l ta nce ( .8 kil ogra ms pe r squ a re ce ntim et r It s p1 ess ure r es 1smu c h c heape r to a ppl y e) It is o b v io us ly

T he 111 a 111 ad vant age 1s th a t the ta nk ca 11 b 8 I tl d I ' e ne ut1·a 11secl w ith RO anc ·1e n re move ro m th e ". , b1o und a nd c ut e ithe r 0 11 s ite o r at a 1e m ote loca u o n b ut up Li m e 1Je na lt ies ow in f!. to its lo n g li fe i t 18 a e n t ll e l1y w ith o ut · · · c co mp e te l · f. process a nd as the ta nk li ds clo no t need to be re cly sa e m ove very ea sy to use

An ev en m o re exc 1tm g pro du c t , a s ister foa m RG 30 ( ress ure re sistanc e 3 kil og ram s p_e r squai·e ce ntim e tre) can t!e e mployed on ne w ta nk in sta ll a tion s of th e no rm a l pea shingle or concre te surro und . hB edc au seb1t will _ex clud e _a ll t . but ab sorb a ny escapm g y rocar on s, 1t ca n g 1ve w a e1 1 f . a t be ne fit fr o m the e nv1ronme nt a pomt o · v ie w. O bibea_ is ly a c o ITec t me th od of in s ta ll a tion is re quire d to vim · 1 d · c· the foam is inj ec te d unde r the n g 1t co n 1ti o n s. 1v iI e nsm e d 1 d 0 · e i·1n a studi es have so fa r 111d1ca te t 1at es pn e th e e no me o I II f I bu oy an cy o f th e pro du c t 1t 1s poss 1b e tobm stat_ sa 1 e y m a ta nk f arm and it is ho ped to have a num e r o tn a s ites 1n th e near futur e in th e U K.

RG 30 could re vo luti o ni se th e in sta ll a tion of fu e l storage tank s whil st a ll ow in g fo r ve ry ve ry s imple re m ova l w he n th e tank o r tank farm is no l_o nge r re quire d It is ve ry li g ht we ia ht (25 kil os pe r 1000 li tres) w ith it s a b so rpll o n ea :c ity of 80 % of its ow n vo lum e o t fe rs th e p ros pec t n l p e i·y 1011a ta nk li fe a nd a n eas il y recovera bl e ta n k fa rm ve ry v o

As we ll as uses o n pe trole um fo reco urt s H y d ro phili c foa m produ c ts a re w ide ly used f o r so il s tab ili sa ti o n a nd a ·a11ae of re late d prod ucts H ydro phili c foa m is co mm o nl y l e b , used fo r m ak in g ro o l· ga rde n s a nd eve n go l1 co ur ses. A n y vo luntee rs for a de m o nstra ti o n o r the la tte r ')

Fo r fur the r in format io n co nt ac t Geoffre y W he e ler \ll G eoffrey W he e le r Ma r ke tin g Te l 07G:\ 446 ll44 Fa x Nu 0703 44 779 1 or C har les H ucl lesto n n l Tanksafe L imil ecl : Te l: 0 7 1 628 485 1 Fa x Nn : 0 7 1 >74 040 8

Webb, Environ Products Inc

The development of environmentally safe underground storage and piping systems (system) over the past ten years ha s been an evolutionary proce ss Understanding what needed to be done and how to do it was all part of the challenge It was clear, early in the development phase of these secondary containment and leak detection systems, that accommodating and retrofitting existing tank and piping de s ign s was going to be difficult. To further complicate matters petroleum equipment manufacturers began working independently of one another on environmenta lly safe solutions for their own products. With all the se great ideas developing left and 1ight the difficulty became in bringing them together as a cohesive environmentally safe sys tem.

Some of the general design c riteria which began to develop as an acceptable mean s of e nvironmental protection was as follows:

I. System components should be made of a non-corro s ive material s uch as pla stic wherever po ss ible.

2. No sys tem components made of metal , whether coated o r un -coate d , s hould be direct ly ex posed to the environment.

3. Piping a nd co ntainm e nt c hamb ers s hould be mad e of a s trong se mi-rigid pla st ic material which is c hemically co mpatible , unbreakab le a nd will not crack under s tress clue to gro und mo ve ment a nd high wate r tabl es.

4. A ll system co nne c tion j o int s sho uld be secondarily co n tai ned and acce ss ible from the ground s urfac e.

S A ll product co ll ect ion po int s in th e svs tem s hould be direc tl y monitored

T he primary des ign goa ls for a ny und ergro und storage

and piping system is leak prevention , detection and reaction l_'here are a numbe'. of other design considerations such as fire safety, corrosion, chemical compatibility structural strength'. ease of installation and cost which are also important. There are four basic components for such a system: (I) (2) Containment Chambers (3) Piping (4) Leak Detection Each of these system compo t h s 1 ·ts 1 d nen s a own specia es1gn considerations which include how each component must mterface with the other to provide an envi ronmentally safe system.

Since the introduction of the first double wall underground storage .tanks over ten years ago there have been number of design improvements made to tanks durm.g this penod such as liquid interstitial momtormg have been mtroduced as a mean s of continuously monitori ng both the primary .and secondary tank wall for leaks. Thi s type of leak detection sy stem provides mstantaneous alarm and pump shut-down capabilities in the event of a leak. Double wall tanks have become more cost effective with the introduction of improved wall constructions featuring a smaller space between the primary and secondary wa ll. Thi s smaller mterstitial space provides rapid leak nugrat1on for quick respon se leak detection. Tank co ating s and tank construction material s have improved as we ll and are more compatible with the stored fuel s and the unde rground environment.

Tank manufacturers have al so addressed the tank s inter face"wit h pump c2ntainment chamb.ers or commonly known as tank sumps The 111troduct1on of both " reversed nangecl " and " vertical " containment collars has been a s ianificant improvement in creating an environmently safe ta;k to s ump mterface. These short co ll ars encircle one or more tank fitting s or man ways a nd provide an effective mean s of base attachment of tank su mp fn thi s app li cat ion all metal li c fittings and/or manh o le cove rs a nd fasteners wou ld be co rn

Mike

pletely secondarily contained and di-electrically isolated from the environment.

Tank Sumps are a type of containment chambers which are installed to the top of an underground storage tank and extend from the top of the tank to just below the street mancover. These sumps provide a means of secondary confor the tanks' submersible pump and associated plumbing. They also provide surface access to the tank and a clean and dry environment for future service and maintenance. Tank sumps may also be used as a collection chamber at the low end of a double wall piping system. The importance of tank sumps has grown substantially since their introduction over eight years ago. What started off as a simple backfill retainer years ago has evolved into a water tight surface access chamber which is used as a leak collection_ sump f<?r double wall piping systems and are typically eqmpped_ _leak detection sensors. Tank sumps today be hqmd _tt¥ht. _They must be capable of preventing any fuel_ ongmatmg from within the sump or piping from getting out mto the environment and prevent any ground or surface water from entering inside. In many parts of the coun_try, any ground water entering the tank sump must be to b_e a hazardous waste and then disposed of accordingly, which can be very expensive.

Tank s_umps_ have water-tight covers capable of withstanding hqm_d_ head pressures generated from high conditions. The cover design should provide for convenient access to the sump havincr a cover design which is easy to remove and replace. 0

Another area in which containment chambers should be installed is directly underneath an above ground product dispenser as a_ means of secondary containment for the dispense_r and its associated plumbing. There are two types of chambers commonly used. The first is called a pan", which is a shallow container (6"-12" deep) designed to all plumbing connections from the shear Dispenser pans are used primarily in conjuncwith ng1d piping systems which require of metal flexible connectors installed at each end of a pipmg rnn. 1:he advantage of the shallow design is easy spill clean-up typically originating from filter changes. The disof this shallow design is that the flexible connecr the shear valve is not contained nor is 1 access1 e rom mside the pan.

The second type of d d" " . ,, . un er 1spenser container, called a sump , is a deeper container (24"-30" deep). The deep design features containment of th fl "bi as well as all lumb· . e ex1 e connectms fl "bi P mg and connection located above these ex1 e connectors. Typically dis enser sumps should include a f . pans m.1d d1spen.ser , _ . rame wmk which permits mountmg of the above g1 ound dispenser directly t d d. 1 b h . I b . o an Irect y a ove t e conc1ete s a - This framework sho Id .d f II d bi d I - · u p1 ov1 e a u y a Justa e an mu ti-directional stab"!' b _ · II I 1zer ar assembly for easy msta at1on of the shear valve and di _ . . .. Once inshlled the ·t b"l' b spense1 mte1iace. . ' , s a I izer ar assembl b enoucrh to secure the h . I : . y must e strong o s ea1 va ve suff1c1ently, so in event of a dispenser knock-over the shear valve will ac off flow from the ta k Th livate and shut. . n . is already a growing requirement that d1spense1 pans or dispenser st1111ps h Id b I d . d · . h . · s ou e oa teste to msme t at they will effectively ·t· b'l' I I _ s a 1 1ze t 1e shear va ves. D1spense1 sumps which are height ad· bi h · b .· · I . ' Justa e at t e JO site 1s a so a good feature to have for ac. d · II f 1 commo atmcr a types o p1p111g app 1cat10ns. 0

All containment chambers like tank sumps d'. . d d . , 1spenser sumps an 1spenser pans should be fitted with m1 efl' t' f I II ec 1ve means ? sea mg a pipe and conduit entries into the side walls of the chamber. These entry seals should be capable of

angled pipe or conduit entries which could be as much as 30 degrees off perpendicular to the side wall. These seals should also be flexible enough to absorb pipe and conduit movements without breaking a seal or putting point-load stress on the piping or conduit. The seals should be made of materials which are chemically compatible with the fuels or chemicals to be stored and the chemicals found naturally in the ground environment. To prevent failure due to corrosion, entry seals should have no metallic components which are directly exposed to the ground environment.

Underground piping has always been the !ITeatest source of leaks into the environment. Convention:i ricrid pipincr with all of its required directional fittings created0 potential leak points in an underground piping system. Proper installation of these types of piping systems were sensitive to weather conditions, installer training and proper use equipment._ best remedy to prevent ng1d piping systems from leaking mto the environment was to encapsulate the primary supply pipe and all of its directional fittings inside another larger piping system. This containment concept was much easier said than done. As it turned out this type of remedy became very difficult and expensive to not .to_ mention the fact that there were twice as many piping JOmts to be concerned about than before. There were a number of different rigid piping containment systems introduced, all seemed to create more problems than solving. It became evident that an easier to install and more economical piping system had to be developed which was completely environmentally safe.

Several years ago flexible and. continuous piping was introduced as a to. problems characteiistic in ngid pipml? systen:is. Like most new ideas, p1pmg with mixed reviews. Flexible p1p1.nl? offered s1gmficant tages such as no connection JOlllts to the t "'aster to install and not as 111stallat10n sensitive to inen , ,, . d I B l"k weather conditions and untrame per_sonne ut 1 e any new product there were many questions to be before total acceptance. of the most concern1!1g . k d was if the pnmary and secondary flexible pipe t10ns as e ' . d · bi h 1· was chemically compatible with an 1mpern1ea e to _t e iquids to be transmitted. Othe.r such flowd ff · · couplincr and f1ttmg sea mg capa i illes an e 1c1enc1es, "' . I - · overall long term perfom1ance. yemds of mtrodd · d numerous installations ex1 e un ergroun uct1on an · 1 · c · · t 11 s have proven to be the best so ut1on 101 an P1P1.ng sysnet111·1y safe means of piping hazardous liquids. environme ' · · h ·ff Some flexible piping systems now meedt t de d1 _11 1 h · I comp·itibility and permea 1 1ty stan ar s wit 1 cu t c emica ' I bi d d · I f I · Juding both ethanol and methano en e fue s. all ue s me . - l 'bi · · h· · h · ·ovements such as smooth bme t ex1 e p1pmg as Ot ernnpi · I d bi 11 · · been introduced as well as co-axdia ou wa -h · 01-ates the outer secon ary cont.amment p1pmg wh1c 111c01p ' · · · . · -d · f tl Primary supply p1pmg. Also. the 111t10 uct1on as part o 1e · · I b II · d • 1 'd · tei·stitial pipe momtonng ms een we 1ece1ve of 1qm m · I · · b h I as an effective means of y1_ ot -d secondary p1pmg me s1mu taneous y. Pnmary an 'd bi d . . d piping systems are cons1 era y more env1ronUn e1g10un 1 · ·d · · 1· II . c than the old smgle wa I ng1 p1pmg systems o menta y sa1e the past.

The installation of safe unde1:ground tank and piping 1s greatly altected the and · 't·illation practices of the systems. Manutacturers o1 these ms' · I d ·1 . I . I products may pay great attention to 1e et<_u. s ol t 1eir prnc uct designs to make sure that they not tail and adversely harm the environment. Installers o1 these systems must also be concerned about even the smallest details of the installation procedures in order to provide a totally envirnnmentall) safe system.

Conder's aim has always been to develop better products and building methods to accelerate the construction process the sooner your forecourt is up and running, the sooner your return on in vestment. 30 years ago we introduced the prefabricated Canopy, later the GRP Interceptor and most recently the revolution ary Fibrelite Access Covers with their light weight, you don't need a 'feat' of strength to lift them. Now, Conder can offer a complete range of ready-made products designed specifically for the forecourt.

Modular Con venience Store and Car Wash buildings delivered to site ready wired. plumbed and fitted out for rapid assembly; Access Chambers to contain possible fuel spillage and keep out sub-soil water: Silt Traps to avoid drain blockages and last, but not least, Pump Island Barriers all from one source and delivered to site.

PME ON PETROL FILLING STATION

By Tony Tomlyn

Tony Tomlyn Mobil's Senior Electrical Engineer in Marketing Division has been elected chairman of a risk assessment team which through the Institute of Petroleum will carry out an impartial analysis of the PME situation.

Tony's experience of electrical safety extends beyond his work within the Oil Industry where for over 20 years he has involved with electrical and electronics associated with military explosives.

The assessment team is made up from The Electrical Supply Industry, The Oil Industry, The Health and Safety Executive, The Association of Petroleum and Explosives Administration and allied Industries. It is planned that the team will report back by the end of the year.

PME

The HSE in their guidance booklet HS(G)41 Petrol Filling Stations; Construction and Operation states that PME should not be used for earthing on Petrol Filling Station 'hazardous area' sites.

PME protective Multiple Earthing is the electrical supply configuration now universally adopted for almost all forms of common supply installations. Exceptions may be found where dedicated or local supply transformers supply a TN-S (separate earth) to a specific site eg a motorway service area, fuels supply depot, factory etc.

The PME Configuration

In the past the configuration used to supply houses and commercial properties in addition to the phase conductors consisted of two conductors from the star neutral point of the supply transformer. One conductor was the neutral return conductor and the other was the protective or earth conductor. Both conductors in fact were earthed at the supply transformer so the neutral was also at earth potential. Any fault current was handled by the protective or earth conductor which with a satisfactorily low impedance would blow a fuse or operate a protective device.

Over recent years the configuration has been changed, neutral conductor is now made to double as the protective conductor thus eliminating the old dedicated earth protective conductor.

The neutral conductor is earthed progressively along its route to consumers hence the term Protective Multiple Earthing.

On entering any premises with buried metalwork the PME connection doubling as an earth is bonded to it. !he buried metalwork immediately becomes a further multiple earthing point. Due to natures laws and in this case ohms law the buried metalwork becomes yet another path to conduc1 return current. Although this path is usually a relatively poor conductor some currents do flow. they are recognised and known as diverted neutral currents.

WHAT IS THE RISK?

At the recent APEA conference Mr Povall HSE pointed out that this configuration was adopted with shock protection in mind and allowed currents to flow in buried metal work which greatly exceeded intrinsic safe current limits.

Mr Povall of the HSE in his explanation went on to say that due to the diverted neutral currents flowing in underground pipework and tanks, incentive sparking maybe possible. This situation could occur due to corrosion and poor connections and especially where pipework is being cut. The potential hazard in question is where a spark is able to jump across a gap including a gap caused by corrosion which may ignite if at the same time petroleum vapour is present.

Other problems could also exist where other circuitry is i?volved. PME currents could possibly effect instrumentation and measurement systems especially where small signal cables had PME currents imposed on them. Cathodic protection may under certain circumstances also be effected.

In addition to normal working conditions where diverted neutral currents flow continuously some fault scenarios were considered. If the neutral conductor becomes disconnected at a given point under fault conditions then the earthed metalwork would carry heavy currents and voltage gradients would exist.

Mr Bob Denham of BP Oil UK Ltd at the APEA conference _put the _Oil Industries view point. There is some concern 111 the 011 Industry in addition to Petrol Filling Stations where PME been installed for smaller storage and supply depots which take their electrical supply from a 415 volt source. t:Ir. Denham made the position clear that the Oil Industry 1s 111 the middle of a debate where the HSE considers s_u_spect from the point of view of potential fuel vapour 1grnt1on and the supply industry tends to support it as a safe system from the equipotential bonding point of view.

However, there is no documented evidence to indicate :uch with The HSE had placed a 3 year limit 111 which all Petrol Stallons should have PME removed howdue_ to the of the task and following discussions with the 111dustry this three year retrospective time scale has been withdrawn.

The position now 1·s th·tt all n d · d · II t. 1s , ' ew an rewJJ"e · msta a 101 must PME removed hut for the time being all existing older sites can remain with it, with the provision that the systems are checked and maintained to their original safe standards.

A PME SUPPLY SYSTEM

Joint Earth and Neutral connection Clamp meter measuring PME current

This sh'!ws a typical three phase supply. Note as it's PME the green earth w1re and the black neutral are together.

The clamp meter is clamped around the PME earth wire and is measuring the Diverted Neutral Current.

When the system is converted to a TT earthing arrangement the green earth from the PME connection block is not used.

Remember the 3 year retrospective time period to remove PME from sites not being rewired has been withdrawn by the HSE.

PME Risk Assessment

Due to the overwhelming task to convert all Petrol Stations to a TT system within a limited time scale, and the continuing debate to determine if any significant risk existed, the Oil Industry through the Institute of Petroleum expressed considerable concern. The representative Electrical and Retail Engineers held a joint meeting to discuss the problem.

It was decided that a Risk Assessment study programme should be implemented. A representative panel was set up compnsmg the HSE, the Oil Industry Retail and Engineering, the Electrical supply Industry, The Association of Petroleum and Explosives Administration (APEA) and on open position for allied industries where other hazardous areas may be effected. The chairman was elected and is A H Tomlyn of Mobil Oil, representing the Institute of Petroleum.

The first meeting of the risk assessment steering group decided that a specialist should be sought who could carry out the investigative tasks. A specification for the work has been drawn up. It is planned that the study should take place over the next few months and report back by December 1993. The steering group will regularly monitor the progress and results.

The objective is to establish a fair and uncompromising of risk to enable the best possible advice to be given to the industry in the interest of safety.

The enquiry into PME will review the practices in other countries and their methods of addressing the subject. Feedback from all fire services on electrical causes of fires and explosions within the UK will be requested.

on the PME ground currents measured when testmg is carried out on Petrol Fillino Stations should be logged and fed back to the risk group.

Any information both for and against PME must be taken mto consideration.

Risk assessment has to be a fair and balanced hypotheses and be presented so that it is easily understood. In this context perhaps the motor car on a forecourt is a risk where sparks occur within courtesy light switches on car doors and the commutator within the starter motor on a car (often up to 1.5hp) produces considerable sparking when passing about 1OOamps to start the engine. Maybe the biggest risk we all undertake is driving home from work.

It is perhaps worth remembering the well known photograph of a chip van on fire on a forecourt. Perhaps luckily no further explosions occurred or maybe it is due to the standards and structure of the installation. The site was reopened a very short time afterwards proving maybe that perhaps Petrol Stations built and maintained co1Tectly aren't that dangerous after all.

The Industry is both responsible and responsive to all aspects of safety advice and we all look forward to the clearer guidelines for Electrical Installation safety.

of the HS(G)4 l working group must be given where the group is made up of some of the most professional and experienced engineers in the country. HS(<:J)41 is a guidance booklet made up of the best advice possible. Where any possibility of a hazard may occur then this has to be pointed out.

The Electricity at Work Regulations are the law of the land_ and if safety is compromised then both injury and pros- ecutions can follow.

1:he Risk Assessment study is carried out through the Institute of Petroleum. Any correspondence on this matter should be addressed to:-

PME Risk Assessment Study

The Institute of Petroleum

PETROLEUM - THE 21 ST CENTURY

Following a complete review of petroleum policy Cumbria Fire Service recently staged a one day conference when over 200 licensees from all over the County were updated on the many changes which will affect their forecou1ts.

The event was staged at a conference centre near Cockermouth and was well supported by trade exhibitors provided a comprehensive display of modern forecourt equipment.

Cumbria's Deputy Chief Fire Officer Mr. Arthur Smith opened the conference and told the assembled delegates that 1:ap1d changes taking place within the industry. both in the I ield of safety and new technology had been instrumental in the decision to stage the conference.

"One aspect of the industry which no one wishes to compromise is safety.'" said Mr Smith who went on to out line the day"s programme.

I )eputy Senior Fire Safety Officer. Mr. Roland Hutton. "'ho •·arried out the policy review then addressed the confer·11 1 l' He explained the background to the review and fol-

lowing a of the history of petroleum legislation said Cumbna County Council could only licence sites as dnected ?Y the law, the codes of practice and guidelines as well as dictates of the Health and Safety Executive.

To Authority in its planning a survey of all fillmg. stations m the county was carried out and all were cateaccording to the standards prevailing. The categories applied those requiring urgent work, those regarded as a pnonty and those who could be updated when a1terat10ns were planned. Following this 40 sites had been classed as sub standard.

All this had been done. he said. "with a view to short and long term plans of action relative to the raising of safety standards."

Throughout the remainder of the day presentations were given by Petroleum Officers who explained changes in licensing conditions, administrative procedures. electrical testing. site registers. tank testing and leak procedures and the introduction of a new guidance document for the construction and development of filling stations.

He went on to warn licensees against cowboy tradesmen and said that Cumbria Fire Service had formulated a confirmed list of contractors. "By adopting this p1incipal we have attempted to protect our licensees from unqualified and unprofessional persons ," he said. "As a further safeauard b consulative groups of both elect1icians and installation engineers are being fmmed."

An opportunity was then given to licensees to put questions to a panel of petroleum officers. A Jong and difficult session had been expected following difficulties experienced by many licensees in complying with new requirements but this failed to materialise

"I believe that the in depth explanation of the background to the changes answered the many questions expected. I am sure that licensees are more understanding of these requirements and thjs can only be to the benefit not only of themselves but also our petroleum officers who have constantly been put into difficult situations when explaining requirements to proprietors who are faced with Jarae financial outlays ," said Mr Hutton after the conference h;d closed.

Mr Hutton told the meeting "The licensing authority con-

siders it imperative that the laid down procedures are folJo":ed. to comply with the instructions may result in a licence bemg refused or not being renewed. "

He explained that the policy document refeITed to such items as underground storage tanks both steel (double skinned only) and GRP, methods of installation, tank fittinas and testing as well as the types of pipework accepted, inst:ilation methods , pumps , site monjtoring and drainage.

Other sections covered test procedures , including electrical requirements a nd training.

On electrical testing Mr Hutton said that under new licensing conditions implemented on Jnauary I st this year an electrical test certificate was now required before licence s were renewed however the authority had , for the time being , suspended the requirement to change over to the TT earthing system from PME earthing. " We still require the electrics to meet a reasonable standard of safety and to pass an annual test. The provision of a test socket is required ," said Mr Hutton.

REPORT ON HOUSE OF COMMONS DEBATE

19th May 1993

Petrol Stations (Leakage)

Motion made, and Question proposed, That this House do now adjourn. Mr. Arbuthnot.

10.16pm

Mr. Colin Pickthall (Lancashire, West): I am grateful for the opportunity to draw the attention of the House to some of the problems relating to petrol leakage from storage tanks in garages throughout the country. I apologise to the Minister for keeping him late, but I am sure that he will find the matter of some interest.

In my constituency, there have been three serious leakages of petrol from garage storage tanks, involving many hundreds of gallons of fuel, in the past 12 months. In one case, on County road in Ormskirk, the problem, although serious, was tackled efficiently because a large company Esso was the owner. I am informed that where large companies such as Esso or Shell are involved, the lines of responsibility are clear, the pollution is tackled correctly and the polluter pays. However, in the case of the other two leakages, the garages were small companies and the problems were more acute.

In one case, on the A59 in Rufford village, the petrol leaked through the drains under the trunk road and into the cellars of the Hesketh Arms on the opposite side of the road. I am sure that the Minister will agree that it is not petrol that one wants to find in the cellars of a pub. The potential tragedy in such a situation is not hard to imagine. In that case, the local authorities moved rapidly to neutralise the danger.

The third incident encapsulates all the problems that I want to bring to the Government's attention. almost 12 months ago, a severe leakage of petrol was detected from Church garage on the A570 in Scarisbrick. The pollution from that leakage covered 20,000 sq m. It contaminated 2,000 cu m of soil and 500 cu m of water. The leakage passed into and under adjacent houses and, through the drains under the trunk road, to houses opposite. The cellar of an old vicarage nearby was filled with a mixture of petrol and water, and I believe that about I 50 gallons of petrol were taken from the eel lar. The owners of the old vicarage, the Kennedy family, who have spent everything they have on refurbishing the building. are now devastated to find that their property is virtually wo11hless. The same applies to -;eventl other home owners in the vicinity.

I am indebted to David Pirret. the general manager of Shell UK retail division. who made a clear analysis of such rrohlems in a speech on 29 April. He said:

The fragmentation that now exists at local and regional level: and the widely differing levels of technical under,fandinl:! make any meaningful dialogue extremely diffi, 11 lr

In the Scarisbrick case, the garage owner, faced with tremendous costs, put his business into liquidation. For any business of that size, the identification of statutory nuisance and the threat of the serving of an abatement order, are almost bound to lead to liquidation. That means that there is no company on which to serve the abatement order.

We then move into the question of responsibility. That is shared between several bodies. The first is the district council-in this case, West Lancashire district council as the environment health authority. West Lancashire has already spent about £60,000 on monitoring and testing, which is a substantial slice of its total capped budget of £9.2 million.

The county council is responsible for licensing through the petroleum officer in this case, the fire brigade and it is also responsible as agent for the trunk road under which the petrol leaked through the drains. The Department of Transport is ultimately responsible for the trunk road itself, and the National Rivers Authority became partly responsible, because the petrol leaked for a while into a small watercourse. In other cases, I believe that the water board and local planning authorities have also had responsibilities.

The garage's insurance policy appears to cover only unexpected immediate leakages. The Scarisbrick leak seems to have been going on for some time. Some petrol was found to be fresh, while other petrol had broken down. It may therefore prove impossible to establish insurance liability.

To dig out the affected land would cost up to £250,000, according to the district council. Clearly, the district council cannot afford that. It becomes an awkward question of judgment for the authorities which must assess the risk involved in such pollution with cost very much in mind.

Lancashire county council and West Lancashire district council assess the risk now as small. However, only three or four weeks ago, vapour level;s again rose dramatically, probably due to the petrol underground rising on the surface of water. The land there lises on a clay layer, which is virtually impervious.

While both local authorities are doing their job properly, they cannot tackle the problem faced by the neighbouring householders who have seen the value of their houses reduced to nothing. Yesterday, Mrs. Kennedy informed me that her insurance company had informed her that it now refused to cover her house. I am sure that the other people who have been affected, including Mr. and Mrs. Chisnall next door but two and the Reverend Mr. Goode who inhabits the new rectory, have identical problems.

That is the immediate personal crisis for several of my constituents that I would like the Minister to consider. They are ordinary citizens who, through absolutely no fault of their own, find themselves possibly ruined. Although they are personally protected from danger by the local authorities at least. I hope so they are unable at the moment to seek

compensation from a company which has gone into liquidation. They also face insufficient insurance cover.

In those cases, the polluter does not and cannot pay. That is just one example. A Salford university student, David Watson recently produced a study which showed that there were more than 280 cases of leakages from storage tanks across the country, although over an unspecified period of years. Petroleum officers informed our local authorities of 216 cases in the past 12 months in just 29 local authorities, and 54 cases were assessed as fire hazards. In Warrington, there was a case in which 17,000 gallons were spilled in that manner. The worst case was in the constituency of the Leader of the House, the right hon. Member for Braintree (Mr. Newton) and involved between 20,000 and 25,0000 gallons.

The Minister will appreciate that the country is threaded by pipes, culverts and underground watercourses which can transport petrol or vapour in unforeseen and even undetected directions. In the Scarisbrick case, it was found that petrol had been leaking through an old culvert under a nearby church, the church of St. Mark, and close to a nearby primary school. It makes me shudder to think that only a couple of miles up the road is Martin Mere, the country's second largest wetland bird sanctuary. If petrol had got into that area, there would have been a different disaster.

David Pirret from Shell reports that between 30 and 40 per cent of United Kingdom petrol filling stations have problems and that those problems centre on suction lines that accounts for 90 per cent of the total the flexipipes on the pumps, single-skin tanks the one at county road turned out to have quite a hole in it when it was dug out and the absence of a proper monitoring system of tank space, overfill prevention and vapour recovery systems. He also makes a point that I wish to emphasise; the problem is more likely to arise in rural sites, which tend to be older. The Minister's constituency, which I know extremely well, contains many garages which might present a hazard at some point in future.

In the case of Shell, a renovation programme is in process replacing single-skin with double-skin tanks, replacing metal suction lines with plastic suction lines, putting check valves on pumps and, perhaps most important, installing sensitive tank systems which he says could detect a teacup of oil d1sapl?eanng. In the cases that I am talking about, several hundred, 1f not of gallons have disappeared undetected for a long time. The costs of all that for Shell are vast, and could be undertaken only by large companies. It is not a solution for a small company.

I. hope that the problems and I shall conclude by puttmg the_ key :o the Is it possible to legislate for msmance pohc1es which cover the total cost of pollut10n from Is .1t to have tighter monitoring, more 1'.1°mtonng and mspection? Is it possible to tighten up the hcensmg process?

At present, is only annual relicensing. The local authority can mve?tory checks, but it is not obliged to, and after the first mstallat1on of storage tanks. the next inspection does not have to be for 20 years . Is it possible to simplify the range of How can help be given to small local 111 parttcular when they face crises that they cannot fund.

Am I pessimistic in my assumption that, if proper and sufficient regulations are fully implemented. the logical conclusion will be that small garages become completely non-viable and only the big chains will have the resources to protect the environment. as Shell is trying to do'? Of course. most important. how can my constituents who face appalling domestic calamity

be helped out of the hole into which they have undeservedly been thrust? The Minister will appreciate that, because of the time, I have not ventured into the decommissioning of sites and the existence of abandoned storage tanks, but enough problems have been aired for one evening, and I am grateful for his attention.

10.28 pm

Mr. Mike Hall (Warrington, South) rose-

Mr. Deputy Speaker (Mr. Michael Morris): Order. Does the hon. Gentleman have the permission of the hon. Member for Lancashire, West (Mr. Pickthall)?

Mr. Pickthall: Yes.

Mr Hall: I am grateful to my hon. Friend the Member for Lancashire, West (Mr. Pickthall) for initiating this important debate. I am grateful also to the Minister for allowing me a couple of minutes of his precious time to add to some of the points that my hon. Friend has made.

My hon. Friend referred to the work of David Watson, who works for the environmental health department of Warrington borough council. I commend it to the Minister, as it encapsulates all the problems that my hon. Friend outlined. One problem is that, when petrol leaks from petrol station tanks, it spoils the environment in several ways. It gets into the soils and into the local environment; it can get into water courses and end up in sewers. The problem is that, if 1 per cent. of the natural atmosphere is affected, it is then a flammable atmosphere, while if up to 8 per cent is affected, the J:iecomes explosive. The report refers to a number of such mc1dents: I shall refer briefly to three.

The report _ a statement of experie?ce prepared for Warrington bor?ug? cou?cII ment10ns, mstance, an incident in Lincolnshlfe m which a petrol stat10n leak put 5,000 litres of petrol into the It threatened th t S Pply of a local hospital. In another mstance. vapour e wa er u . . . h d 1 levels in the basement of an cottage_ reac e exp o. 1 1 In Warwickshire, m the west m1dlands, after a s1ve eve s. · b t· d. 1 t 1 ak from a petrol station, a num er o a Jacent ong- eere affected That is just a small sample. prope 1es w ·

M h F ·end the Member for Lancashire. West has mendy t 1 ·ssues involving Wanington, part of which I t1one wo · · · b . • · t The principle problem is th num e1 of agencies '.epre1send ·. t "VJ·ng to clean up after the leaks. First, there is the mvo ve 111 1J • I fficer who reo1sters petrol stations and retams Petro eum o • "' · · f · 'bTt while they are still operatmg. I a stat10n goes respofnsbI 1 . 1 Y·s the petroleum officer's role ends, as he has no out o usmes , . d b ·r · 'to1111 g powers An officer can be appomte y th of -site 1110111 • • d' d d ·b · d . he can also be a member of the tra mg stan ar s fire nga e. : , . I d h .t Tlli·ee ·ioencies are thus mvo ve aut on y. '"' ·

Secondly. the local authority Protection Act 1990 has a 1 1ty or .lb) f· petrol station sites. Its respons1 1 1ty 1s JJ"st to nauon 1om · · · h · . t omplaints put to the local authonty: It must t en 111vest1g.1 e c · · I f 11 · decide whether to take actI0!1 the t1)t t 1 1e1 o test: is what is happening to pu 1 IC 1ea t 1. t:r 1s 111 a1nu1.• '7 If the leakage falls to meet those cretena. t 1e ocal sance. authority is not obliged to act.

The National Rivers Authority also has some power. It blioed to act under the Water Resources Act 1991. hut controlled waters are affected. The- Health and Executive is involved in the- storage- of pc-trnl at pt'lrnl stations. but has no remit when pollutions extends heyond them. Tht'll there are the water companies. which rnn take action i r their water supply is thrc-atcned. Hm ing acted. tht'n hill thosl'

who have caused the problem; but if as in the case cited by my hon. Friend the Member for the company has gone out of business and lost its third party l_iab1lity insurance, there will be no one for the water authonty to take action against.

In the majority of cases, effective action takes place. There are 20,800 petrol stations registered in the United Kingdom. When there is co-operation between the petrol companies and the authorities, there will be few problems, but when companies have gone out of business, there will be a serious problem, which my hon. Friend has highlighted.

The Warrington example has already been mentioned. As a result of a long-term leak from a petrol station, 17 ,OOO gallons of pollution ended up in a local environment. All credit must go to Shell UK. Investigating the site, it discovered the level of pollution and brought in the local authority. It pumped off 17 ,OOO gallons of petrol. The local authority then found petrol in the drain next to the station, and got the fire brigade to flush out the drain. That process pushed petrol into the water course. The National Rivers Authority was notified, but took no action; the local authority had to go back to its drainage suction to trace the problems that had led to the original leak. The land is now being decontaminated. The whole thing worked quite well.

We see a different side of the story, however, in Braintree Essex. Over a long period, between 20,000 and 25,000 gallons of petrol ended up in the subsoil around a petrol station there as a result of a leak. The county and district councils were faced with the cost of clearing up, because the petrol station had gone out of business and the third party liability insurance had disappeared. Over four and a half years, the two local authorities spent a great deal of money trying to solve the problem. That is okay, but what happens when a small district authority cannot afford what could be £250,000? It is a real problem.

I shall conclude now because I have used my two examples. We want stringent guidelines for petrol station storage; we want more frequent and effective inspection and we want a unitary authority that will deal with the problem from top to bottom it should not be left to a multi-agency. We need help f?r. authorities so that, when they recognise their respons_1b1ht1es, they have the resources available to tackle the pollu- tion problem.

If local authorities are given the power to inspect off-site pollution form petrol stations the Minister may agree to this the onus will not fall on small petrol stations and force them out of business simply to avoid their responsibilities. I commend the recommendations in the report to the Minister, which I shall certainly let him have. I thank my hon. Friend for the opportunity to participate in this debate.

I 0.35 pm

The Minister for the environment and Countryside (Mr. David Maclean): I congratulate the hon. Member for Lancashire. West <Mr. Picthall) and thank him for bringing this mailer to the attention of the House. It is in one way a local matter. hut it also raises issues of general importance to which the House should rightly turn from time to time.

The cases to which the hon. Gentleman drew attention illus1rate the prohlems faced by local authorities and other public h"die'i in dealing with contamination. I am conscious of those problems and their complexity. The issues I will address 111clude the powers and duties of public authorities to control or n·medv contamination. preventive measures. methods for treatllt)..! iw1d once pollution taken place and assessing the risks rlwt ;Jll;wh '" pai1icular types of operation with polluting poten-

tial. The first point is that more than one public authority can get involved in a case of this sort to prevent it from happening in the first place, to put the bumden of remedial action where it belongs on the polluter or to take action when all else fails.

As the hon. Members for Lancashire, West and for Warrington , South (Mr. Hall) may know, the Government have decided to review the powers and duties of public authorities which bear on contaminated land, including their powers to recover costs. The review has a considerable bearing on the issues raised tonight by the hon. Member for Lancashire, West, and I shall refer to it several times.

First, we wish to see cases of of contamination such as the ones described by the hon. Gentleman tackled on a sensible basis. That is, action should be taken where the hazards to health or the environment are real and th means for tackling them are appropriate to both the problem and the continuing or intended use of the site. "Appropriate" also includes the matter of costs. We do not want to see environmental improvement or restoration carried out whatever the cost the benefits must exceed the costs.

The hon. Gentleman asked whether small companies can survive proper regulation. That is another way of matching improvements to resources. I can assure him that we will not impose unnecessary or costly regulations on any company, large or small. He is right to draw regulations on any company, large or small. He is right to draw attention to the fact that, while Shell and other large companies can take great measures to improve the potential for no leakage form their tanks especially as they operate bigger sites in rural areas and many smaller stations we could make the petrol tanks water tight. As the hon. Member for Warrington, South said, we could have stringent regulations to ensure that there would never be the slightest leak, but that would result in no smaller petrol stations at all the cost would be astronomical.

Secondly, we wish to see the polluter pay. A company, large or small, should bear the cost of putting right any damage that it has done. But, in these cases, the "polluter" has gone away. Under such circumstances, there is no ready answer to the problem of who should pay. It can be unfair i the cost falls to others notably, as the hon. Member for Lancashire, West pointed out, people like his constituents, who are on the receiving end of the damage. That is why our review includes the issue of liabilities for past pollution. I am afraid that I cannot promise that the outcome will please the hon, Gentleman. but the issue of fairness is one that we are addressing. In the meantime, his constituents have the usual rights of landowners to seek legal redress against others.

Thirdly, our review is focusing on the role of the pollution control authorities. It is intended to remove any doubts and inconsistencies in the way in which their powers operate. I cannot promise the hon. Gentleman that we will reduce the number of the appropriate players in this.

After all, the situation that has been described has many dimensions health and safety at work, the threat to public health and home, the threat to groundwater and threats of air pollution. The Health and Safety Executive, the National Rivers Authority and the local authority all have legitament roles at present.

I should be worried about trying to create the all-singing alldancing agency that the hem. Gentleman suggested. because it might not have the appropriate expertise to deal with all aspects. What we must do is to ensure that where two. three or four agencies are involved, they clearly understand their responsibilities and that there are no gaps or unnecessary bureaucratic overlaps between them. Therefore. we want to ensure that the 1ight structure is in place.

The hon. Gentleman also spoke about the scope for clarifying the terms of insurance cover for petrol filling stations. Compulsory insurance to cover the costs of remedial work is among the issues raised in a Green Paper from the Commission of the European Communities about paying for environmental damage. We are, of course, considering our response to the Green Paper. Once again, I can assure the hon. Gentleman that we are therefore addressing the problem he has raised.

But I should point out that insurance must be paid for. It is a form of contract between the insurers and the insured. I understand that the Association of British Insurers looked at the question of the terms of cover for environmental pollution. I also know that individual brokers are developing policies to meet needs for cover in this area. I am not sure that we should interfere in that process. Nor is it likely that there is, for the moment at least, the ambiguity to which the hon. Gentleman referred.

I know that it is no comfort to the hon. Gentleman and to his constituents to know that the future should bring a more widely accepted solution to problems of past pollution. The problems of the hon. Gentleman's constituents are here and now. They are rightly exercised about why the problem developed and what will now be done to sort it out.

In the first instance, this is a matter for the West Lancashire district council. It has long-standing powers to tackle are called "statutory nuisances". I understand that the done that to the extent of serving notices on the filhng stat10n owners who have now gone out of business.

As I said, we understand that West Lancashire district council has served abatement notices. That is, it has decided that these are problems within the scope of the legal powers conferred upon it by the Environmental Protection Act 1990. But it has found that the notices have not had the desired elect of getting the pollution cleared up by the persons responsible for it.

At this point, it is again for the council to decide whether the problem is in need of urgent action. It has the powers to take action itself to remedy the problems it described in the notices it served. It is for the council to explain why it has chosen not to act, if that is, indeed, its decision.

There are controls over petrol station operations. Prevention is obviously be_tter t?an cure. All storage of petroleum has been control!ed by for many years. The Health and Safety ?as on appropriate conditions for hcensmg, mcludmg_ the testmg of tanks. However, it has always been the pohcy that, in addition to physical testing of tanks, operators should have systems of continuous inventory control to show was being lost. I think that the short word for that is a dipstick. Most authorities make continuous inventory control a condition of licensing.

The hon. Gentleman has asked whether those controls can be tightened. I am aware that the and Safety Executive wrote in July 1990 to petr?leum licensing authorities with interim guidance on testm? and supply line testing. Tanks and lines are out of sight and, hke all systems, deteriorate with age. That makes testing necessary but difficult. In pmticular. methods using wate_r tests costly and raised the problems of disposing of the contammated water once the tank had been filled with it.

The interim guidance be in draft guidance and will be the subject of extensive public consultation. I hope that the hon. Gentleman will respond to that public consultation. bearing in mind the points made about the costs to smaller operators if we go for a Rolls-Royce approach with knobs and bells on. That process should give rise to a system which will

balance the costs of better testing and regulation against the benefits of greater confidence and control over pollution.

Therefore, there is a framework for action and a framework for prevention. But it is not for us to interfere with the way in which the council acts in such cases. The Government's job is to channel resources and advice. The hon. Gentleman asked about the resources available to small councils. We are doing a great deal to help the handling of such cases.

First, we have made resources available in the form of supplementary credit approvals to local authorities whether large or small, to tackle contamination where there is a threat to human health. A local authority can apply to my Department for SCAs to fund the investigation of a case or for clean-up work where the private sector polluter cannot pay. It is open to West Lancashire council to make such an application, which will be considered fairly, on its merits, along with the others.

The council may be concerned about precisely how to tackle a particular problem. To that end, we prepare advice. There are several methods for the remediation of land contaminated by petrol and related su?stances. methods are of little use unless potential users hke the counc!l know My Department is carrying. out to provide on d alino with contamination of soil by a range of contammants, · ecludfna hydrocarbons such as petrol and diesel. We have in e "d already published some gm ance.

In addition, the Institute of ?as iss.ued a useful "Code of Practice for the Investigation an?

Possible Petroleum-Based Land . d hy De artment contiibuted comments dunng ra tmg, an_ t_ e Rivers Authority was represented on the ed1tonal · Those are part of a broader programmer of research committee.

· · d b h · I contamination problems bemg came out y t e mto genera h · d b De artment. Some other rel_evant researc came out y my p · Judes a pro•ect to produce a framework for Department me J • d d · h · pact of contammated land on groun water an assessmg t e im paration of a screening protocol for contamisurface water, pre . . f h d nd articipation 111 a maJor programme o researc nated Ian a .dP ce on remedial treatments sponsored by the to produce gm an . A . . 1 d try Research and Infom1at1on ssociat10n. Construction n us

d a lot of ground -I hope that the petrol has I have covere h G 1 ur nd I ho e that I have reassured the on. _ent eman. vve not -a . f ph ollution control problems which pose chalare awaie 0 t e P · J d · ·t·· W ' II levels_ oraanisational. techmca an sc1entI 1c. e lenges a e that we get all of them in balance. We are trymo to ensur h. h · h e 1 · t have aot all the answers. w 1c 1s w y we would not c aim o e B " . h I I • 0 the wide-ranging review. ut. 1or t_omg t, 1op are conductm"' the hon. Members for Lancashire. West and that I show; th (Mr. Hail) that West Lancashire district for if it wishes. to take cm·e of the interests council t e n}esc;isbrick. The same would be true of inciof the n 1 hope that the council will contribute to dents 111 m1111e 0 • a . tllat we are conductme· the review

Question put and agreed to.

· I avincr been made after Ten o'clock and the The motion 1' "' · h · MR DEPllTY cr continued tor half an mu. debate hE,RlVllld"'· mrned the House without Question put. pur- SPEAK a Jt suant to the Standing order.

Adjourned at thirteen minutes to Eleven o\:lock.

HS(G)41 PETROL FORECOURT PAVING - "THE OPTIONS"

By: David A. Breen, Managing Director, Kerrial Plastics Limited

The Health and Safety Executive are currently reviewing their stringent recommendations under HS(G)4 l. The world is turning "green" and petrol filling station forecourts have not ever tightening legislation with respect to safety and pollution risk. For those responsible for specifying suitable _forecourt paving methods, the proposed new HS(G)41 gmdelmes present an interesting task. Having obtained a copy of the amended HS(G)41, specifiers should take an in-depth look at the available options.

It is understood that the H.S.E are re-drafting HS(G)4 l to the widest possible range of paving methods , but are msistent upon the following.

1. Areas subject to vehicular traffic should be constructed of materials capable of supporting the anticipated weight and intensity of traffic without excessive settlement, cracking or erosion . Areas above underground tanks and pipe runs should be adequately reinforced

2. Petrol dispensing areas and road tanker standing surfaces should be de signed to prevent any spillage penetrating through the surface Any joints in the surface must be positively sealed and those sealants must be resi stant to attack from petroleum products. See also National Rivers Authority Guidance PPG7

Concrete block paving has become popular over the last few years on filling station forecourt s Individual block paving can be aesthetically appealing but the proposed H.S.E. revis ions challenge some aspects of it ' s abilities. To be able to properly s uppo11 the "a nticipated weight and intensity of traffic", concrete blocks might have to be laid upon a fully reinforced concrete s ub base. Concrete block s will have to be imperviou s to fl a mmable liquids and their joints "positively sea le d " with sea lant s which are " re s istant to attack from petroleum products". What is the solution to these requirement s?

The first task is to ensure that the sub-ba se is properly prepare d to be s uitably load bearing. The block s alone offer only mode s t load bearing capabilities. Block s mu st be accurately la id in orde r to re s ist movem e nt caused by repeated standard 8.000 kgs ax le loadin gs The inte rest in g aspect is, of course, how to properly a nd adequately sea l the block s to meet the new c ri te ri a

I re c ent ly secli e rs have bee n ba se d on potentially harmful so lve nt s s uch a s Xy le ne and do no t a lway s ex hibit a hi g h d e g ree o f resi s ta nce ov e r a period of time to attack fr o m pe trol e um product s

Rese a rc h ancl de ve lopm e nt ha s produ ced a range of sea le rs cl es 1g ne cl for pa v in g uses a nd s pe c ifically co ncrete paving. T he -,e are wa te r ba se d produ c ts and are fonn ul a te cl us in g " ha ng up to the minu te " res in s whi c h c he mi c a ll y cro ss link w ith c on c re te formin g an in te gral bone! as oppo se d to pure ly a me mbr a ne T hese c an be hru sh o r s pra y appli e d to an y L' ( 1ncre 1e pa v in g 111 c luclin g b lo c ks se a lin g th e s urface. res istin g o f w a lcr rn l a nd pe trnl

Other advantages are _c_olour _because the resins are very clear, of dusting, yell · a t has anti-slip acld1t1ves and allows surfaces to be owm 0 e c, h C very easily cleaned using pressure was very hiah resin levels, these sealers assist wit 111 mg JOmtmg b sand and aesthetic appearance.

So once laid correctly and to the high specification that is required, blocks can be. treated to enable their performance in terms of permeability to meet the requirements of H.S.E.

Textured Pattern Imprinting Concrete Paving

A second option exi sts which is coloured and textured pattern imprinted concrete paving. Essentially, this remai·kable paving is a large continuou s area of reinforced concrete, laid in bays paying clue regards to normal concretino practice , which is coloured, imprinted with s pecial tool;, ancl then sea led using a s uita ble concrete sealer. The advantage s of the system are many fold. Once the ba se has been prepared, large areas can be laid quickly and ea s ily with 80-100m 2 per clay , well within the capabilities of a four man team , it ca n be pigmented to practically any colour and different colours ca n be combined in s itu to product a mot tl e d or antiqued effec t. There is a range of patterns available co nta ining th e texture ancl de s ig n of cobblestones , s late, sto ne , brick a nd tile. Beca use th e tool s use d s imply imprint t he s urfa ce of the s lab , th e pattern c ho se n does not in any way affect the performance of it w he n heav ily traffick e d. T he re s ult a nt s urface is hard e ned and abrasion res is tant with a hi g h P.S.V. T he re are no pointing join ts whatsoever. The c o ncrete is a s pec ial mix designed for the pro cess and sho uld in c lud e tre at e d polypropyl e ne fi bres for stre ng th a nd

shrinkage crack infobition and can be laid to any depth and reinforced as required Maintenance is simple by purely pressure washing the sealed surface.

Colour Hardeners are cement1C1ous and comprise extremely hard carefully graded aggregate for abrasion resistance, strong colour fast pigments , cement for binding and also, in our own product, polymer modification. Polymer modification is a unique development in this field and is designed to enhance the abrasion and impact resistance properties of the surface, seal capillaries and pores against liquid ingress to offer protection against freeze-thaw cycles and inhibit efflorescence. Colour hardener toppings are shaken dry onto freshly laid concrete and floated in.

Pattern imprinted concrete paving specifiers have a product which combines the strength and practicability of plain grey concrete with the pleasing appearance that is possible with block pavers and traditional paving materials.

Another option is resin-bonded paving. A range of modern resins allow remarkable pigmented polymer modified, quick curing screed which can be used for forecourt areas and are also ideal for interior spaces such as workshops and showrooms that require hardwearing, easy clean smfaces

that promote an up-market image. Pigmented resin/mortars are also available. These are high strength, chemically resistant screeds which can be laid at depths around 2-IOmm and can be very quickly curing and anti-slip.

Many options therefore exist for first class petrol filling station forecourt paving which should be able to meet tightening legislation. Petroleum officers are correctly concerned with the potential explosion risk of fuels leaking under the paving surface into the sub-base. Rjver Authorities are concerned with the risk of harmful liquids seeping through paving, eventually finding their way into rivers and drinking water sources. Specifiers are now able to consider these various modem options as ways of satisfying the authorities and encouraging a cleaner, safer, more attractive environment.

Full details of Kerrial Plastics Limited ' s products are available from:

Applied House, Fitzherbert Spur, Farlington, Portsmouth, Hants. P06 ITT. Tel: 0705 214000 Fax: 0705 215555

INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE AND EXHIBITION ON PETROL FILLING STATIONS INNOVATIONS IN FUEL DELIVERY SYSTEMS

Views from users of the systems Views from manufacturers of the systems 21 SEPTEMBER 1993

METROPOLE HOTEL NEC BIRMINGHAM UK

The Annual Conference and Exhibition of the APEA has now become an established occasion in the calendar. This event provides the opportunity for retail engineers from the oil industry, suppliers of services and equipment, and from the UK Europe and the USA to meet and discuss topics of current in the retail industry. is year the theme will be Innovations in Fuel Delivery Systems, papers will review :zme_ of the important changes in HS(G)41 and European legislation cover the A chn1c?I. c:idvances which have evolved to comply with these new requirements. S n Exh1b1t1on will be held for two days on Monday 20 September and Tuesday 21 eptember and The v visitors will be welcome both days N E Cenue year is the Metropole Hotel and Conference centre situated at the · · · exh1b1t1on c t The h t I · en re in Birmingham. B" 0 e IS ad1acent to Birmingham International Airport The British Rad station IS irn:1ngham International which is part of the Intercity network. There are frequent t siemrv1tcebsltodlon_don Euston (80 mins) and Birmingham New Street (l 0 mins). Full

etads b 2711

b c?n e obtained by calling 021 643 ·

c7s '!.car is via the motorway network M42 or M6 and there are ample

you wish to register for the conference or exhibition please

To run a safe and efficient retail petroleum site you must have good control of your wet stock and reliable protection for the environment. At the heart of both these functions is accurate, reliable tank gauging.

Veeder-Root Environmental Systems has a wide range of products designed to provide you with the right specif ications for your needs, at unbeatable val ue .

Our business is tank gauging and environmental protection and we are inve st ing in the future to be ab le to prov i de the products a nd services which meet the market's requirements, both now and in the years a head

Having the right products is only part of the solution and we recognise the need for excellence in service and installation We operate our own national engineering team supported by technical specialists and our customer care department at Head Office. Their sole purpose is to serve you from enquiry to field support.

WHY NOT TALK TO THE WORLD LEADERS? CALL

NOW ON 081 392 1355 AND WE'LL RECOMMEND THE APPROPRIATE PACKAGE FOR YOUR SERVICE STATION.

ach has been selected for its high s tandard of expertise and knowledg e of the industry.

IS THE ONLY WAY PETROL OUT OFA WEFCO TANK.

..

A WEFCO underground storage tank delivers petrol to the nozzle, where it's needed, not into the ground

That's because at WEFCO we're leading the field in environmentally friendly fuel storage with our double skinned tanks, giving maximum protection against leakage

WEFCO were the first petroleum tank manufacturer to be accredited to BS 5750 Part 1 - ISO 9001 1987, so sett ing the standards for other manufacturers to follow.

Underground storage is just one aspect of the WEFCO range of services and products, which also include GRP access chambers and cathodic protection, all designed for efficiency, performance and environmental protection.