New APEAMembers

that will ensure that pollution risks can be minimised at the scene of an incident. The agreement strengthens the existing working relationship, covering issues such as agreed responsibilities during an incident, the exchange of information, joint training and what types of incident the Environment Agency needs to know about. By ensuring that fire crews have the equipment to protect the environment the Environment Agency hopes that swift action can be taken to avoid any environmental disaster. Officers from the Environment Agency have been working with the National Fire Service College to develop the environmental module of its Environmental Protection and Hazardous Materials training course and have been training firefighters on how to use the grab pack at an incident.

As well as oil and fuels, other spills that may not appear immediately hazardous. Chair of the London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority Val Shawcross said: "This agreement demonstrates our continued commitment to protect the communities we serve using the very latest equipment and techniques. The joint work we are doing with the Environment Agency builds on the procedures that we have in place to deal with pollutants at incidents." Chris Birks, director of the Environment Agency's Thames region, said: "This is a major step forward in prioritising the environment. The agreement is the result of some excellent joint work between LFEPA and ourselves.

The equipment and training we have given to the London Fire Brigade should provide them with the right materials and skills to contain harmful substances and dispose of them safely. LFEPAand the EA have shown that the environment can be protected more effectively if we work together."

UK, Information on Contaminated Land

The Environment Agency has published soil intake values for ethylbenzene and toluene which may be contaminating land. The main purpose of the documents is to provide regulators, developers, landowners and other interested parties with information and advice on the assessment of risks arising from the presence of soil contamination associated with these substances. The reports describe soil guideline value, generic assessment criteria for assessing the risks to human health from chronic exposure to soil contaminated with ethylbenzene and toluene. To access the report on ethylbenzene, go to http://www.environmentagency.gov.uk/commondata/acrobat/et hylbenzene_sgv_932499.pdf To access the report on toluene go to http://www.environmentagency.gov.uk/commondata/acrobat/tol uene_sgv_932493.pdf

UK, February 28 2005. Corporate polluters will have to pay for their damage

Rgw government is considering going into the election with a commitment to impose tougher penalties on companies and individuals who pollute the environment. The most far-reaching proposal in a new Environmental Justice Bill would give a right to communities to order an environmental impact assessment of developments such as new factories, roads or waste incineration plants. Harriet Harman, the Solicitor General, who is backing the policy, also wants new powers for the Environment Agency to demand court orders to force polluters to clean up the rivers or land they have spoiled.

The proposals could upset the business community, but Ms Harman has privately told colleagues that they will be a vote-winner with many Labour supporters who believe tougher action is needed to tackle the problems of polluted Britain. They are due to go to a meeting of "green" ministers chaired by Elliott Morley, an Environment minister, on 8 March. However, one green campaigner who has been consulted said: "She has got to persuade 17 to 20 ministerial colleagues and get it past the Better Business Regulation Task Force, the Downing Street team, and the Treasury people. It is not going to be easy."

The Environment Agency prosecuted 266 companies in 2003 and the courts imposed fines on 11 company directors for polluting rivers, fields, and other parts of the countryside. But Friends of the Earth criticised the courts for handing out fines that are dwarfed by the profits of major companies. FOE said Sir Terry Leahy, the chief executive of Tesco, earned more in one day than the £10,000 fine levied against his company after fuel leaked into the groundwater from three fuel storage tanks at the Tower Park Tesco in Poole, Dorset. In its report, the Environment Agency said the leak continued for more than six months, adding: "Pollution of the groundwater can be irreversible or at best costly and timeconsuming to clear up." A fine of £60,000 was imposed on BP for allowing tens of thousands of litres of fuel to leak from a service station's tank into Luton's groundwater. FOE dismissed the punishment, saying: "It is equivalent to what BP's group chief executive, Lord Browne of Madingley, earns in just 4.5 working days.

The incident posed a threat to Luton's drinking water because the petrol station is close to one of the town's abstraction points." Mike Childs, FOE's campaigns director, said: "The Government needs to get tougher on illegal pollution and make sure the big corporate polluters are fined amounts that get noticed in the boardroom. "But this is not enough on its own. The poorest in society bear the brunt of the worst pollution and much of this is legally allowed. Aradical third term for Labour would pledge to tackle environmental injustices by making sure that pollution doesn't hit the poorest hardest."

Campaigners claim that poor areas are subjected to the highest levels of pollution because they tend to be closer to heavy industry and motorways.

Tony Blair has made climate change,a priority for Britain's presidency of the G8 and the EU later this year, but little priority has been given to proposals for higher penalties for polluters, which Michael Meacher promised in September 1998 when he was environment secretary. Mr Meacher said then that the fines for those who continued polluting were "pathetic". The average fine then was £2,500. It is now estimated to be around £4,000.

Adouble wall GRPtank failure was picked up in central London recently by the alarming of the class 1 leak detection system that was monitoring the interstitial space of the tank. Inspection revealed that the tank split on the inside was along the length of the tank. The tank was installed in a sensitive location in the centre of London and the oil company intend to remove the tank and close the station.

UK, Guernsey, Vale, February 2005. Tank condemned: there will be no refuelling at Alderney airport for the time being

Planes will instead have to come to Guernsey, where any landing charge will be waived to compensate for the inconvenience. Fuel supplies in the northern isle have run out after a delivery on Friday had to be turned away. The old storage site had been deemed unsafe and no replacement depot has yet been found. 'It is a very unsatisfactory situation and will alienate aircraft operators and in the short term we will lose business,' said States member John Postlethwaite, who is on the airport-remediation panel. 'If an aircraft from Southampton has to carry more fuel to avoid a trip to Guernsey, then it will be forced to carry fewer passengers.' Rockhopper chief executive Noel Hayes warned that it could be the people of Alderney and air passengers who ended up paying the price. 'This could prove very costly for Alderney,' he said. 'It will certainly affect private planes and this will impact on tourism. It may also impact on commercial operators. Until the situation changes, there is the possibility of disruption, delays and more cost to us. 'Of course, while we

are not immediately looking at putting up prices, if there are ongoing increases in costs, then we will inevitably have to pass them on. It is the consumer who is most likely to suffer from this.'

Alderney's aviation fuel used to be stored at the crusher site near the harbour. But the States of Alderney came under pressure to close it after the Guernsey Health and Safety Executive found it to be unsafe. The island's government was given time to find another storage facility but had not done so by the time Cyma, the company which supplies the aviation fuel, attempted to make a delivery on Friday.

The States said that it was unaware that any delivery was scheduled. Unable to put the fuel in the normal site, the company wanted to take it straight to the airport but was told the parking facilities there did not meet the requirements for storing an ISO tank.

Mr Postlethwaite said officials in Alderney were working with Guernsey on a short-term solution. The long-term aim is for aviation fuel to be stored at the airport, but it is unlikely that suitable facilities would be in place before the end of next year. AGuernsey airport official said on Saturday that there would be no refuelling in Alderney until at least the end of March. Mr Postlethwaite said that the current situation could have a serious impact on the two airlines serving Alderney and on the island's economy. 'We are hoping, with goodwill, to have a short-term solution in place shortly, it just depends on whether we can find a storage place that meets the requirements of the Health and Safety Executive.'

UK, Fraserburgh, February 17 2005. Ship painters fined £5000 for explosion

AShip Painting firm has been fined £5,000 after a worker was severely injured in an explosion.

Peter Bruce Ltd appeared in court for the incident which left Peterhead man Francis Arthur in intensive care. Mr Arthur (36) spent nearly a week being treated for severe burns to his hands and face. He had been working in a small engine-room tank when a halogen lamp ignited the vapours from his spray paint. Flames filled the room and Mr Arthur had to dart through a manhole to get to the deck of the Banff-registered Audacious, docked in Fraserburgh. His Broch-based employers admitted failing to ensure the health and safety of a worker as the case was called before Peterhead Sheriff Court on Thursday. A Healthy and Safety investigation determined the halogen lamp was behind the explosion.

Defence agent Gail Wiggins said the company had spent £3,000 on getting suitable lighting equipment after the accident. She said managing director Peter Bruce took photographs at the time to help with the Health and Safety inquiry, which started two days after last April's incident. And he is sending each of his 12 employees on a course to better prepare them for working in confined spaces. Sheriff Malcolm Garden reduced the company's fine by £2,000 given its previous good record. He said: They have been generally very responsible and had a Healthy and