No one likes to plan for a crisis. It means contemplating all manner of unpalatable issues, from injuries and disrupted services to environmental damage, financial problems and even criminal prosecution.
Sadly, when it comes to environmental pollution, a crisis is always potentially just around the corner.
According to ViolationTrackerUK, fines of many millions of pounds were issued to businesses found liable for water pollution incidents in the UK over the last 10 years, with prosecutable breaches taking place almost every other month in that time. That is before we move on to chemical spillages.
Even pollution caused by runoff from water used to fight fires is the legal responsibility of a commercial site’s owner. That means companies are directly responsible for the costs of clean-up operations, which can run into hundreds of thousands of pounds and are not usually covered by insurance policies. The Environment Agency is rightly working hard to ensure compliance, and, as a property owner, getting it wrong can lead to criminal convictions for company directors, jail time and even the collapse of the business when fines - tied to company turnover - are taken into account.
So, how can commercial property owners mitigate the risks involved?
The answer lies in effective prevention planning - or ‘investing in peace of mind’ as we prefer to call it.
CIRIA736 regulations came into force in the wake of the Buncefield oil explosion and apply equally to businesses of every shape and size, from one-man bands to multinationals, industrial manufacturers to logistics companies, retailers or simply office space providers.
Under CIRIA736 regulations, it is a criminal offence to allow or to knowingly allow a water pollution incident.
What would happen if you had a spill or fire at one of your sites right now? Do you have a containment plan in place? Does it work? And do you know how long it would take to contain any pollution, in what conditions and for how long?
The first step to getting it right is to understand your risk
Historically, risk assessments have been based on assumptions and rely on the ability of an assessor to predict what may happen during a pollution event. But this is not sufficient to protect the environment, nor to protect a business or commercial property owner from prosecution.
Spill mapping, on the other hand, allows companies to adopt a more scientific approach. Here, computer-generated modelling produces animations that demonstrate the flow of pollutant materials from a site in the event of a spill, fire or flood. From the simplest sites to the most complex spill-containment and drainage systems, spill mapping is a valuable tool for any business operating from commercial premises.
Using CIRIA736 compliance as its baseline, it brings together detailed topography and drainage maps to produce accurate 3D site plans. These are fed into a modelling system that runs through various disaster scenarios before creating an animated plan that accurately demonstrates the flow of spill, flood or firewater - along with any other pollutant materials - from the site.
The plan assesses the likelihood of contaminated materials reaching water courses, agriculture or other high-risk environments and is mapped against existing drainage and containment systems - showing runoff pathways, expected timelines and related breakout points that take into consideration the effectiveness - or otherwise - of existing drainage and containment devices.
It also takes into account any existing assets - such as kerbing, yard and parking areas, retaining walls, loading docks, balance ponds, embankments or sleeping policemen - that could contribute to effective water pollution containment in the event of an incident.
This evidence-based animation of site-specific pollution release scenarios allows companies to identify the right controls to put in place, developing appropriate containment solutions in line with CIRIA736 requirements, ISO14001 certifications, and Environment Agency and local authority requirements alike.
Once the baseline model has been established, if additional pollution containment devices are needed - such as concrete barriers or Toggleblok valves (not Penstock valves, which simply slow down the pollution process rather than containing pollution at source) - these can then be designed into the system. The result is an evidence-based water pollution containment system that provides property owners with the reassurance it will be effective before any physical work is carried out, saving both time and money.
In our experience, adopting a spill-mapping approach typically delivers cost savings of around 50% when compared to automatically investing in traditional ‘spill prevention’ methods and, more importantly, it is actually effective when called into action!
It is an approach that also provides valuable reassurance for insurers and the Environment Agency that disaster containment has been properly modelled and assessed by site owners - demonstrating compliance with CIRIA736 regulations and reducing the risk of criminal prosecution and business-viability-threatening fines, contractual and reputational damage.
Spill mapping is a win-win for all concerned. With reduced costs and greater peace of mind for all, what’s not to like?
