Oil Spills

A Structured Start

Fuel oil spills can be very troublesome and its easy to initially
underestimate the significance of the incident. Careful
assessment is important to estimate the amount of oil that has
spilled or leaked.

As an accredited Environment Agency “Spill Responder,” we use
a risk based model to identify the likely path of the spilt oil and
the receptors that the oil may come into contact with.

Once this process is complete, we can compile a report
identifying what actions are required to effectively deal with the
resultant contamination.

Preventing secondary damage.

As you already know spilt oil can cause a very damaging
situation. Of course there are environmental risks to the fauna
and flora, which comes into contact with the spill.There are also
many risks to your property and your health.

Home.

Oil attacks the plastic which is used to make water pipes and
the damp proof course of your property. Therefore it is
important to act quickly if you suspect an oil leak.

We have seen situations where homes have to be partially
demolished because the damp proof course has been too
severely damaged. It is recommended that you check your oil
tank regularly to ensure that there is no leaking oil.

If you suspect a leak, we can use a chemical “sniffer” called a PID
meter to detect spilt oil. It is better to carry out testing and get
a negative result than do nothing and have your home damaged.

Health.

Fuel oil is a respiratory irritant and can have an anaesthetic
affect. Property occupants soon become de-sensitised to the
odour and in these cases can sometimes become unwittingly
over-exposed.

We can initially contain this by providing local exhaust
ventilation to reduce the air-borne vapour, enabling the
property to remain occupied. This gives more time for
investigation and gives you more time to consider treatment
proposals.

Fuel oil is very slow to evaporate - the smallest residue is
detectible by the human nose because of its strong smell (from
sulphur content).