FSP-Microcosm News-Global Community Report: Oil Leak

Showing posts with label Oil Leak. Show all posts

Thursday, May 22, 2014

Environment Pollution - United Kingdom, England, Marlborough [Esso pipeline, Wiltshire] - Oil Leak

Earth Watch Report - Environmental Pollution - Oil Leak

About 150,000 litres of fuel have contaminated soil close to the River Kennet, just upstream from top public school Marlborough College, pictured, in Wiltshire

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Environment PollutionUnited KingdomEngland, Marlborough [Esso pipeline, Wiltshire]

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RSOE EDIS

Environment Pollution in United Kingdom on Thursday, 15 May, 2014 at 11:05 (11:05 AM) UTC.

Description

Up to 150,000 litres of fuel leaked into farmland in Marlborough after thieves drilled through a major Esso pipeline. The attack on the pipeline running through the estate of the late multi-millionaire Robert Sangster in Manton happened on April 2, causing a high risk of an explosion. News of the incident, in which a tapping device was used to break into the pipeline 8ft underground, has only just emerged. It pumps fuel from the Fawley Refinery in Hampshire to a distribution terminal in Birmingham. A hose had been connected to the pipe, which carries a range of fuels, and was then hidden with soil. It was disturbed by a farmer, resulting in the leak. Esso does not yet know how much fuel has leaked but says 150,000 litres would be the worst case scenario. A spokesman said: "The pipeline was quickly repaired and has resumed operation and there is no indication of any impact on human health as a result of the leak. "We remain committed to resolving the situation fully. At the moment we are trying to determine whether there has been a leak and if there has, where the fuel has gone." A 500-metre safety cordon was put into place while the scale of the incident was established and people living nearby moved as a precaution. Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service fire engines, from Marlborough, Calne and Devizes, together with an operational support unit and an incident command vehicle from Swindon. A fire crew remained at the scene for 32 hours as a precaution. Police and the fire service said this week that they didn't release details of the incident because they were acting on behalf of the Wiltshire and Swindon Local Resilience Forum, a body including fire, police and ambulance, Wiltshire Council and Public Health England, and it was up to the forum to make the incident public. Town councillors were sent an email marked confidential by town clerk Shelley Parker giving brief details of the incident days afterwards. At a full council meeting on Monday Carl Barber, the Marlborough fire crew manager, told councillors: "It's extremely dangerous. That is an extremely pressurised line at times and it can be a danger."It was brought to our attention by the police as some was seen to be leaking and it did take 32 hours and seven appliances because our attendance was required while they isolated and dealt with the issue." Esso has depressurised the pipeline to limit leaks. It says there is still a quantity of diesel and petrol mixture in a hole approximately 1.4 metres deep on the Manton estate. The firm contacted Action for the River Kennet to identify suitable monitoring points along the river in case of pollution. The Environment Agency is working with Public Health England to evaluate the impact on water courses. An Environment Agency spokesman said: "At present there is no impact to the River Kennet, but we continue to monitor the situation closely." Police in Hampshire are investigating a large quantity of diesel found in a large industrial unit in East Wellow on April 17. It is believed that the tanks found were being filled from a sophisticated system which had tapped into a main fuel line. Two men, aged 32 and 34, from the Salisbury area, were arrested on suspicion of conspiring to steal fuel. They are on bail pending further inquiries. Detectives from Lyndhurst CID in Hampshire are working with other police forces, including Wiltshire, as part of a wider investigation into breaches of fuel lines in the south of England.

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Thieves drill down 8ft into Esso pipeline - and spark major pollution alert at top fishing river

150,000 litres of fuel contaminated soil close to River Kennet in Wiltshire
Thieves drilled underground pipeline causing the leak near fishing spot
Attack on Esso refinery pipe believed to be first of its kind in Britain

By Alun Rees

Published: 19:22 EST, 10 May 2014 | Updated: 19:22 EST, 10 May 2014

Petrol thieves have drilled into an underground pipeline and caused a leak of thousands of litres of fuel next to a popular fishing river, sparking a major environmental alert.

About 150,000 litres of fuel have contaminated soil close to the River Kennet, just upstream from top public school Marlborough College in Wiltshire.

Police are investigating the attack on the Esso refinery pipeline, believed to be the first of its kind in the UK.

150,000 litres of fuel have contaminated soil close to the River Kennet, pictured, in Wiltshire

A Wiltshire Police source told The Mail on Sunday: ‘We’re used to fuel being stolen from farms by rural criminals but this is quite a step further. Two men have been detained in the Somerset area with a large amount of illicit fuel but at this stage we don’t know if the two incidents are linked.’

The theft was from the Midline pipeline, which carries fuel from the Fawley Refinery near Southampton to the Birmingham Fuels Terminal.

Thursday, April 3, 2014

CNRL pipeline leaks 70,000 litres near Slave Lake and Burnaby, B.C., is standing up to Big Oil.

British Columbia city challenges oil pipeline: What about fire or leak?

Posted on March 18, 2014 | By Joel Connelly

Burnaby, B.C., is standing up to Big Oil.

The Vancouver suburb wants to know where a proposed oil pipeline is going to go, especially if Burnaby fire crews are expected to handle a leak, rupture or conflagration.

The vast Alberta oil stands project, along with oil development in North Dakota, is outstripping the capacity of North America's pipelines. Hence, oil is increasingly being moved by rail. A disaster in Quebec raises questions for the Northwest. (Getty Images)

The big, Houston-based Kinder Morgan pipeline company wants to double the capacity of its existing Trans-Mountain Pipeline. The pipeline transports crude oil from Alberta beneath the city of Burnaby (population 202,000) to a refinery on the shores of Burrard Inlet.

The pipeline expansion appears greased — Prime Minister Stephen Harper wants to turn Canada into an oil-exporting power — but Burnaby is unwilling to lie down before the carbon economy. Its city attorney, Greg McDade, asked in a letter to Canada’s National Energy Board:
“What would happen in the event of a fire? What would happen in the event of a leak? There seems to be a suggestion that the city of Burnaby and its fire department can take care of all those things.”
Tough questions from Burnaby deserve attention south of the border. Expansion of the Trans-Mountain Pipeline has one major purpose — export of oil by tanker through international waters of the San Juan and Gulf Islands out the Strait of Juan de Fuca. Destination: Asia.
If the Trans-Mountain expansion is approved, oil tanker traffic out of Burnaby would increase from five to an estimated 34 ships each month.

Read More Here

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Common Sense Canadian

CNRL pipeline leaks 70,000 litres near Slave Lake

Posted April 2, 2014 by Canadian Press in Energy and Resources

An earlier CNRL leak in Cold Lake, Alberta (Chester Dawson / Wall Street Journal)

SLAVE LAKE, Alta. – A pipeline owned by Canadian Natural Resources Limited has spilled 70,000 litres of oil and processed water northwest of Slave Lake, Alta.
The Alberta Energy Regulator says the breach happened on Monday and was reported by CNRL (TSX:CNQ) the same day.
The regulator says the spill is not an emergency, the oil is not near any people, water or wildlife, and a cleanup is underway.