SERPRO Ltd – Oil Spill Absorbents – Spill Kits

A wildlife haven is under threat after oil leaked into an East Riding waterway.

A spill at Winestead Drain, near Patrington, is believed to have been caused by leaking oil from the heating system at Withernsea High School which then moved downstream. 

A number of wildlife species are under threat, including fish, birds, invertebrates and rodents and the effects of the spill may become worse should the pollutant make it into the food chain.

A team from East Riding Council are working to clean up the pollutant in an operation which is expected to take over a week to complete.

Jonathan Howell, spokesman for the local authority said, “Following a leak from an oil storage tank that fuels the school heating system, oil has been found in water nearby.  The leaking tank has been emptied and oil removed from the site.  The council is assisting the Environment Agency on behalf of the school. We have appointed a specialist contractor to reduce the levels of contamination within the waterway.  We are currently inspecting all oil storage tanks of a similar nature with a view to preventing future spillages.”

Mr Howell was unable to say how much the final clean-up bill would be.

He said: “Payment may be the responsibility of the school or possibly the manufacturer of the boiler system. A thorough investigation is taking place.”

The Environment Agency has classified the spill as category two, meaning it poses a “significant risk”‘ to plants and wildlife.

The Environment Agency representative, Francesca Glyn-Jones, said, “This is a category two spill, so we are taking it very seriously. The clean-up teams have isolated the spill between two pumping stations, so hopefully the damage caused will be minimised by these measures”.

A company created to help the environment by producing an alternative fuel source allowed polluting oils to seep into the water system in Birmingham, a court heard.

Arshad Mehmood, the owner of Britannia Biodiesel Oils, admitted disposing of waste oils in a manner likely to cause pollution to the environment.

Nicholas Cole, prosecuting at Birmingham Crown Court for the Environment Agency, said in March 2007, as part of a survey, it was discovered that an oily white substance was being discharged into Washwood Heath Brook, an inner-city watercourse which had also been polluted from other sources.

The discharge was traced through a drain back to a manhole cover outside the defendant’s biodiesel plant in Cherrywood Road, Bordesley Green.

Mr Cole said the plant took waste oils from premises such as restaurants and fish and chip shops and turned them into a biodiesel product which could be used by motorists.

It was discovered there was an open drain at the plant and that there were inadequate safeguards to prevent any spillages going down the drain and polluting watercourses.

Mr Cole said during a further inspection it was noted that a metal tray had been placed loosely over the drain.

Timothy Pole, defending, said Mehmood, aged 43, of Hazelmere Road, Hall Green, had been part of an “explosion” of people who had recently become involved in the business of making alternative energy sources.

However, he had not made any profit out of it and had subsequently sold his business.

It had not been pointed out how imperative it was he should deal with the open drain immediately and that the offence was committed out of ignorance.