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News Shell reported the incident to the local fire authority and the Environment Agency because stock records for January 2004 to January 2005 showed a variance in the tank levels of 3,498 litres. It said that some of this could have been due to various matters, including fuel temperature changes but accepted that there had been a leak of mixed hydrocarbons into the groundwater. Samples taken from boreholes at the scene by Environment Agency Officers confirmed that groundwater at the site had become contaminated. The samples included an additive usually found in unleaded petrol and levels of benzene, a chemical with carcinogenic properties, thousands of times above the UK standard for safe drinking water. Shell informed the Environment Agency of a second leak at the same petrol station, although there was no separate charge for this offence, it was taken into account by the Court when sentencing the company.
UK, Marlie Farm incident inquest opens The inquests into the deaths of two East Sussex Fire & Rescue Service staff members have been opened and adjourned in Eastbourne. Brian Wembridge, 63, and Geoff Wicker, 49, both lost their lives in an explosion at a fireworks factory in Shortgate, near Ringmer, on December 3. The two inquests were opened and adjourned until a further date when police have completed their investigation. It has also been confirmed that the
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funeral of Mr Wembridge, a retired Watch Manager and Service Photographer, will be held on Tuesday, December 19. East Sussex Fire & Rescue Service has not yet been made aware of a date for firefighter Geoff Wicker's funeral. Members of the public have come out in force to show their support and sympathy, contributing to the East Sussex Fire & Rescue Service Memorial Fund and signing books of condolence, which are available online at www.esfrs.org, at all East Sussex Fire & Rescue Service Stations, County Hall, Lewes and town halls in Brighton, Hove and Portslade. Two minutes silence was privately held by most fire service personnel across East Sussex on Sunday at the time of the blast (14.44) a week earlier. Fire officers also collected memorial funds from the crowd at Brighton & Hove Albion's Saturday evening match. Geoff Wicker and Brian Wembridge were among 60 members of the service in attendance during the initial stages of the Ringmer incident. Mr Wembridge was a retired firefighter but his family have requested a full brigade funeral. East Sussex Fire & Rescue Service would ask members of the media to respect the family's privacy.
UK, Yorkshire, Leeds. Fireworks stored among lighters and fuel November 5 2006 - Trading Standards officers in North Yorkshire say they were appalled to find fireworks alongside barbecue lighting fuel, firelighters, cigarette lighters and refill canisters, as well as spirits such as brandy. After this week's inspections, N o r t h Yo r k s h i r e ' s executive member with responsibility for Trading
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Standards, John Fort, said: "The requirements of the rules for storage expect businesses to apply common sense. "Traders need to appreciate that fireworks are explosives and storing them incorrectly could mean that a small fire wouldn't be contained. "It could mean the difference between having to close for a couple of days after a fire and losing the business completely. "We suspect that insurance companies would not pay out on a claim if they found out that the fire involved fireworks and lighter fuel being stored together. "The added factor is that most of these premises are in residential areas and a fire could lead to loss of life as well as badly damaging neighbouring homes and businesses." North Yorkshire's Trading Standards officers will have visited 88 stores in this firework selling season. Many premises will be revisited to make sure they are complying with advice. Other problems found on the inspections include fireworks stored in the open on shop floors, storage cupboards in such poor condition that the doors would not stay closed, locked fire exits, unlocked display cupboards and poor supervision of sales areas, allowing fireworks to be stolen. The county's assistant director of business and environment services, Graham Venn, said: "Businesses are required to complete a separate risk assessment for fireworks. "This sounds like an administrative task but if these businesses had followed this process, they would have thought through how they are going to store and sell fireworks and what they need to do to protect their staff and the public. "If you are selling fireworks and haven't carried out a risk assessment, I would urge you to do so now."
UK, Warfield. Tesco sells diesel to petrol customers November 22 2006 - A Warfield petrol station left motorists stranded - and fuming -after diesel was put in an unleaded fuel tank. Motorists at the Tesco petrol station in County Lane filled up with what they thought was unleaded petrol only to find that it was contaminated with diesel. The massive hiccup happened two weeks previous but was only confirmed by Tesco,
