Playing with Fire Water? Closing in on Pollution Containment

By Phil Collins, National Water Pollution Sales Manager, Hydro International

The most likely environmental damage caused by fire at an industrial site is not a result of the fire itself, but the huge quantities of fire water used to fight it.

In the early stages of a fire, thousands of litres of water are discharged into the environment every minute.  The surface water runoff created will pick up the pollutants and contaminants of whatever (Read More)

burning or hazardous substances are present, and if a site is not fully contained, they will escape into the local environment.

Such a pollution incident can lead to crippling costs to pay for the cleanup.   The “Polluter Pays” principle allows for the recovery of costs needed to put the environment back to how it was before the incident.  Fines can be significant.  In the worst cases, a pollution conviction can even include the option of custodial sentences for company directors.  Most companies believe that they are fully insured under their standard material damage liability policy, but an incident involving the regulator is unlikely to be fully covered.
After the Buncefield disaster in 2005, the Health and Safety Executive found that protective bunding had many flaws that caused large volumes of fuel, foam and fire fighting water to leave the site.  The site’s last line of water pollution defence – so-called tertiary containment - amounted only to the sites surface drainage systems which were not designed to cope with any large-scale releases.  

Feeling lucky?

 Sites that store or use hazardous or polluting substances, in particular, need to take steps to ensure they do not escape into the environment.  Pollution containment is critical for sites operating under the Control of Major Accidents and Hazards (COMAH) 2015 or Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations (EPR) 2010.  It should also be integral to any compliant Environmental Management System (EMS) – or for those companies working to IS0 14001.

Drop Seal Valve

The UK’s central industry guidance CIRIA 736 Containment Systems for the Prevention of Pollution document was significantly revised in 2014 in the light of lessons learned, particularly from Buncefield.

To provide water pollution containment, most companies install isolation valves in the outlets to surface water drainage.  We recommend using drop seal valve technology which is the latest technological development and provides a watertight, failsafe solution that is already installed at more than 150 sites across the UK.  The latest is called the Hydro Brake® Isolator pollution containment valve.

On more complex sites, operators will also still need to be sure that, even with valves installed, in the case of a fire incident, the surface water drainage won’t back up, overtop bunds and storage measures and flow out of the site into the surrounding environment.

Hydraulic Modelling

CIRIA C736 recommends that companies begin with a full assessment based on the source-pathway-receptor model to aid in a holistic containment strategy.  Hydraulic modelling can be used to map the surface water pathways on and off a site and to then to test out and prove any valves, bunds or temporary storages measures.

To enquire about Hydro-Brake Isolator® valves or Water Pollution Management hydraulic modelling, contact 01275 878371 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..  
www.hydro-int.com.