RPM Fuels & Tanks Blog

In July 2007 police and fire services were called to a major fuel leak in Plymouth. 36,000 litres of petrol leaked from a storage tank on site at the Mayflower Terminal located next to the Plym estuary. The petrol leaked into the surrounding area, which was left saturated. Police classed the incident as critical. A public safety warning was issued because of the risks of an explosion.

The Environment Agency bought this case to court in November 2009. Conoco Phillips Ltd and the operator of the Plymouth fuel distribution depot appeared in court for charges for contaminating local controlled waters with petrol.

Sarah Taylor, a representative of The Environment Agency said “This was a major spill involving tens of thousands of litres of fuel that had a serious impact on groundwater and the surrounding environment. The site will have to undergo costly monitoring for some time to track the spread of pollution in the underlying bedrock and groundwater”...” 'This type of pollution incident is avoidable. Terminal owners and operators must ensure storage tanks and other equipment are regularly checked and maintained and, in the event of a spill, all the correct procedures are followed so as to minimise any impact on the environment. It also makes business sense because it avoids expensive pollution clean-up operations and monitoring after the event”

A series of trial pits where dug beneath the Mayflower Depot, showing that the ground was heavily contaminated. The limestone aquifer also showed traces of petrol.

Conoco Phillips Ltd where fined £16,000 after pleading guilty to contamination of controlled water, and ordered to pay £3,373 to cover the court bills. SGS UK Ltd (the site operators) were also fined £20,000 for the same offence, and ordered to pay £5,000 in costs.