Tim
Abbott - 6-Dec-2006 - A year ago the Environment
Agency swung into action to help protect the environment
against the largest peacetime explosion in Europe,
at the Buncefield depot, Hemel Hempstead.
During the incident on Sunday
11 December 2005 Environment Agency staff worked
alongside the emergency services at all levels
- from the front line to planning the strategic
response.
And it didn’t stop there. Since
the last embers were extinguished:
Environment Agency staff have
put in a combined total of over 18,000 hours of
work to both minimise and understand the impact
of the explosion.
Through a comprehensive monitoring programme,
put into place just days after the explosion,
the Environment Agency has now taken over 1000
samples of groundwater, surface water and soil.
Environment Agency staff were even out sampling
on Christmas Day 2005.
Seven new boreholes have been installed to increase
our understanding of groundwater flows and the
extent of contamination.
Colin Chiverton said: "With several rivers
nearby and the groundwater beneath the site, speed
was of the essence when putting the monitoring
programme in place. We needed to find out as soon
as possible if any of the nearby rivers had been
contaminated, and if so, take action to prevent
it spreading. Luckily neither the rivers Ver or
Red showed any signs of contamination.
"Taking readings from the
groundwater was not as simple. Whilst we were
able to take readings from boreholes around the
site just after the incident, we had to wait until
the site was safe to establish the situation directly
underneath it. Unfortunately we did discover some
pollution from fuel and fire fighting foams in
the vicinity of the site. At this stage, we cannot
be sure of the spread or extent of this contamination
but we have recently installed seven new boreholes
to provide further information,
"An incident of this scale
has required the Environment Agency to form partnerships
within the local community. We will continue this
working relationship with the people of Hemel
Hempstead and with the local council and businesses
next year."
Another legacy of the Buncefield
incident is 33 million litres of firewater and
contaminated surface water collected from the
site. Since the incident this water has been stored
at sites across the country, but the clean-up
process has now begun.
Colin said: "We are satisfied
that the oil company’s plans to clean up the contaminated
firewaters, which began last month, will prioritise
the protection of the environment. We are inspecting
and monitoring the treatment operations regularly,
as well as carrying out our own independent sampling,
to ensure they meet the highest standards.
"This year has been very
busy for us and we are proud of what we have achieved
so far. Rest assured our commitment will continue
in 2007, and we are also working hard to ensure
that those responsible pay for any necessary clean
up of the site."
