New APEAMembers

Windmill Hill Industrial Estate, Swindon, pleaded guilty to polluting the Westlea Brook, the River Ray and the River Thames on 23 January 2005, contrary to Section 85(1) of the Water Resources Act 1991. Magistrates fined the company £20,000 and ordered it to pay £9,562.40 in costs.

More than 2,000 stickleback fish died in the Westlea Brook following the incident, as well as a swan, three kingfishers and two moorhens. The true impact on birdlife is difficult to estimate as some may have left the area as a result of the incident. Other birds suffered chemical burns and had their feathers coated in oil. The diesel killed all of the insect life and most of the fish in the Westlea Brook downstream from the discharge point. The River Ray was also effected with insect life described as being slow moving or moribund. Otters and water voles have struggled to make a comeback in the River Ray catchment and the Environment Agency are concerned that they will have been adversley effected by this oil spill.

The Environment Agency received numerous reports from members of the public on 23 January that red diesel was spilling into the Westlea Brook and the River Ray, in Swindon. These prompt reports enabled the Environment Agency to attend the incident quickly thus reducing the potential impact on the River Ray. Environment Agency officer who attended the site and found that red diesel was coming from a surface water culvert close to Stoney Beck Close, Westlea where there was a strong smell of diesel in the air. The officer said that the Westlea Brook ‘looked like a river of diesel’.

Environment Agency officers installed oil booms to stop oil spreading further. With the help of Thames Water they began tracing the source of the pollution through almost 2km of underground water pipes back to the Windmill Hill Industrial Estate. Officers inspecting the industrial estate soon identified the source of the diesel at the Cable and Wireless site, Windmill Hill Industrial Estate. Near to the company’s Energy Centre, there was a strong smell of diesel and they saw oil stains on pipes in the concrete yard which drained away to a surface water gully next to them.

The company explained it had more than half a million litres of red diesel on site. The diesel is used to run 16 generators that perform various functions to provide back up power to web-hosting equipment. The company said that a valve and pump failure had caused the fuel dump tank to overflow through the vent pipes and then into a surface water drain which leads directly into the Westlea Brook.

Samples taken by Environment Agency officers on 24 January clearly link the diesel found in the surface water drain on the Cable and Wireless site to the diesel found along the Westlea Brook and the River Ray. Cable and Wireless instructed clean up crews to deal with the diesel, with the total cost of the clean up reaching £180,000. But despite this action, the incident still severely affected three rivers with adverse impacts to wildlife and on the recreational use of the watercourses for several months.

Robert Iles, Environment Officer with the Environment Agency, said “Companies who keep oil on their premises, particularly in large quantities such as this, have a duty to ensure that a full environmental risk assessment is carried out. Adetailed management system should be in place to safeguard the environment against the effects of any spillage”. “The identification of possible off-site impacts is a key part of such a plan. This company failed to carry out an adequate environmental risk assessment”. “There was also no alarm system or routine checks which may have alerted the company to the problem. As a result of this incident the company has now taken steps to ensure these controls are in place.” “This incident had a devastating impact along the Westlea Brook, the River Ray and the River Thames. It has resulted in damage to a valuable urban wildlife corridor with the loss of thousands of insects and fish, which will take some time to return. Effected birds such as the Kingfisher may take longer to reestablish their territories. “We are pleased that the court has reflected the impact the pollution had in imposing the maximum possible fine of £20,000 at Swindon Magistrates Court.” Mr Flemming Chair of the Magistrates bench said “Environmental issues are of great concern to all of us. Industry and large companies such as Cable and Wireless should lead the field in environmental standards and set an example.”

UK, The disappearing petrol station in the UK

Oil companies are closing petrol stations in a drive to cut costs despite making record profits. Eleven forecourts a week are now being closed and the number owned by oil companies rather than supermarkets or other retailers - fell by more than 300 last year, figures from the Energy Institute show.

Its retail marketing survey reveals that Britain now has fewer forecourts than in 1914 - even though combined diesel and petrol sales set a record last year. Oil companies complain that volumes might be high but margins are pitifully small and Shell has been putting pressure on its forecourt managers to take on "clusters" of stations to save costs. The company is also planning a huge new service centre in Poland, in an unusual move that could lead to hundreds of job losses throughout its European operation. The move surprised oil industry experts but Shell said it was part of a wider global move to develop regional centres for some back office functions. "As a global company, operating in over 140 countries, we use service centres to provide support functions for our business. We continually keep the provision of these service centres under review to provide high quality and cost competitive support functions," said a spokesman. Final agreement is still being sought from Polish authorities about setting up an office in Krakow where 400 jobs will be created initially. Eventually 800 Polish staff could be hired to handle certain billing functions for continental Europe. Other countries were considered before Shell decided on Poland, partly on the basis of cost. Sources close to the company insisted no British jobs would be lost because the billing functions for the UK and Ireland are handled in Glasgow. Both Shell and BPhave announced record annual profits this year.

UK, Morrisons to open UK’s first bioethanol E85 pump

British supermarket group Wm Morrison said it planned to open the UK's first bioethanol E85 filling pump on Wednesday, tying in with the first deliveries of the Saab 9-5 BioPower flex-fuel car. Bioethanol E85 (a blend of 85 percent bioethanol and 15 percent petrol) will retail for two pence per litre less than petrol, and can contribute to a cut in the harmful effects to the environment caused by burning fossil fuels, Morrisons said.

Morrisons, the UK's fourth largest supermarket chain, will locate the UK's first bioethanol E85 pump on the forecourt of its Albion Way, Norwich site, to be immediately followed by supplies at another four of its sites in eastern England. "Creating demand for this product will, in the medium to long term, present major opportunities for UK farmers to supply their excess cereals capacity to bioethanol manufacturers," Morrisons said in a statement.

Morrisons said the availability of the fuel, branded as Harvest BioEthanol E85, had been timed to coincide with the first customer deliveries of the Saab 9-5 BioPower, which was officially launched in Britain in November 2005. Saab BioPower technology enables its cars to run on either the potent yet environmentally-friendly fuel BioEthanol E85, or on pure petrol, without any adjustment required by the driver. Saab is a unit of General Motors Corp. Ford Motor Co.'s Ford Focus FFV can also use BioEthanol E85, a Morrisons spokesman said.

UK, Fireworks firm blasted in court

Apyrotechnics company has been fined £5,000 on April 13th after five tonnes of fireworks including a rocket named the mother of all bombs' were found dangerously stored at an Edmonton warehouse. Trading Standards officers discovered the illegally stored fireworks during a raid at a warehouse close to the busy North Circular Road. Harlow-based Mars Pyrotechnics Ltd claimed it was no longer responsible for the fireworks as it had sold them to an agent. But magistrates said the company was still responsible for ensuring the fireworks were safely stored and issued the fine for failing to meet their health and safety obligations.

Ray Brewer, Enfield Council's assistant director for the environment, said: "For the company to claim it was no longer responsible is just not on and especially when it is trading in potentially dangerous goods. "It has a duty to ensure its goods end up in the right hands and are safely stored." He added: "The important thing is my officers, along with the police, were able to seize the goods which were stored dangerously. "The consequences of five tonnes of fireworks exploding so near the North Circular Road and busy offices could have been disastrous."

UK, Oil company ordered to pay out £14,000 for inadequate safe system of work after explosion at refinery

Total Lindsey Oil Refinery Limited (TLOR) has been fined £14,000 following a prosecution brought by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) after an explosion at its refinery in Immingham, North Killingholme.

HSE's investigation found that TLOR failed to adequately manage risks posed to workers carrying out maintenance on its behalf on a crude oil storage tank. Following the conclusion of the case, Mike Nind, HSE's investigating inspector, said: "The incident could have been prevented by a number of simple and reasonably practicable measures including improved awareness of the hazards and risks, proper supervision of work activities and better monitoring and auditing of safety critical tasks."

The explosion happened on 14 December 2005 while work was being carried out on a storage tank that was out of service. As part of the work, TLOR had contracted Jacobs Catalytic Ltd to use oxy-acetylene cutting equipment to cut brackets on the tank's floating roof. The floating roof consisted of 38 hollow pontoons that provide buoyancy to allow the roof to float on the surface of the oil as the tank is emptied or filled. At the time of the incident, the tank was empty and the roof was at the bottom. Before work started all remaining oil and sediment from the space between the underside of the floating roof and the tank floor had been washed to a 'hydrocarbon free' standard. However, as the workers, who were standing on top of the roof, cut through the brackets a build-up of flammable oil vapour inside one of the hollow pontoons was ignited causing an explosion that blew several workers off their feet, with some reporting landing four to five metres from where they had been standing. Fortunately, none of the workers were seriously injured.

The HSE investigation found that TLOR had failed to preserve an adequate record of pontoons that contained leaks. In particular, although the presence of crude oil within the pontoon had been originally identified and recorded in 1988, this information was not preserved and not passed on to the contractor carrying out the work. As a result, the leaking pontoon was not cleaned out before the cutting work started. The investigation also found that TLOR had failed to ensure that a suitable and sufficient assessment of the potential for explosive was undertaken. TLOR's procedures required that their procedures did require staff to inspect all pontoons for leakage and vapour build-up prior to cutting work, this was not done.

Total Lindsey Oil Refinery Limited pleaded guilty to breaching Section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 (HSWA) at Grimsby and Cleethorpes Magistrates' Court on 21 March 2006 in that it did not ensure the safety of persons not in their employment. The company was fined £14,000 with costs of £518.

UK, Topless car wash in Britain

Britain's first topless carwash has opened its doors - and is already raking in the cash.

Male drivers enjoy the car wash in Burbage, Leicestershire, because a team of nice looking girls do the hard work. The business is taking £900 a day as eager punters queue up for a saucy rinse.

Customers are charged £25 to have their motors washed by four girls in bikinis, but for an extra £5 the girls, who can earn £100 - £200 a day, will go topless.

Businessman Jon Bevins opened 'Bubbles 'n' Babes' last week on an industrial estate near Hinckley in Leicestershire. He said: "We offer a safe, fun and active service but are only introducing a little bit of harmless fun to having one's car washed."

But the sexy business has already got local residents in a lather. Local councillor Brian Edwards said: "Alot of people think it shouldn't be allowed. If you ask me anyone who pays £30 for a car wash has got more money than sense.

UK, IRAfuel smuggling ‘Drove oil giants to abandon Ulster’

Fuel smuggling by the IRAhas contributed to major oil companies pulling out of Northern Ireland, it was claimed yesterday. Esso, BPand Shell no longer directly own filling stations in Ulster, where police believe crossborder fuel smuggling and illegal selling of treated diesel is rife.

Less than 48 hours before the body monitoring IRAactivity publishes its next report, the Petrol Retailers' Association claimed that "gangland" fuel smuggling had had a bearing on the commercial decisions made by oil companies. The trade is estimated to be worth £130 million a year and illegal petrol and diesel is thought to account for 50 per cent of road fuel used in the province.

Ray Holloway, the director of the organisation representing 6,000 businesses, has been asked to give