Fuel leaks and spills will cause pollution, so it is essential that you store and handle fuels safely. This includes petrol, diesel, oil, Liquid Petroleum Gas (LPG) and solid fuels such as coal.
What you must do
If you handle, store, produce or use fuels on your premises, you may need to comply with the Control of Major Accident Hazards (COMAH) Regulations.
Control of major accident hazards (COMAH)
If these regulations apply, you must operate a major accident prevention policy. You must also notify the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and your environmental regulator.
HSE: COMAH guidance
HSE NI
If you store large amounts of petroleum products you may also need to submit a safety reportand prepare an on-site emergency plan.
If you store oil on your premises you may need to comply with the oil storage regulations. Even if these regulations do not apply to your business, you should consider meeting their requirements as they are designed to prevent pollution.
Oil storage
Good practice
Storage
Store all fuels where any spills will be contained. This should be within an impermeable bund, or secondary containment system (SCS).
The SCS should be able to hold:
- at least 110% of the container’s capacity, or
- if there is more than one container within the bund at least 110% of the volume of the largest tank, or
- 25% of the total volume of fuel likely to be stored, whichever is the greater.
Inspect bunds regularly and remove any rainwater. If the water is contaminated you may need to deal with it as hazardous/special waste.
Hazardous/special waste
Locate storage tanks as far away as possible from drains and watercourses.
Regularly maintain all plant, pipework and other infrastructure.
Install leak detection devices in storage tanks and bunds.
Regularly test any underground pipework for leaks.
Lock fuel storage tanks when they are not in use, to prevent unauthorised access and reduce the risk of vandalism. You are responsible for any pollution incident from your site, even if it is caused by vandalism.
Delivery of fuels
Supervise all fuel deliveries to your site.
Clearly label all tanks with their contents and storage capacity. This will reduce the risk of overfilling and spills.
Use drip trays for all equipment and when refilling storage tanks.
Refuelling areas
Supervise all refuelling operations and only refuel in a contained area away from watercourses or surface water drains.
Isolate surface water run-off from refuelling areas from general yard drainage. Drain this run-off to the foul sewer via an oil separator, or an alternative treatment system.
Make sure that you have an up-to-date and accurate site drainage plan available at all times. This will locate all the drains and sewers in and around your site, and show where they lead.
When making a discharge to a drain or sewer, always check you are connecting to the correct system. Only clean, uncontaminated surface water should be discharged to the surface water drainage system.
Paint the drainage system manhole covers, gullies and grills on your site in the recognised colour-coding system: blue for surface water drains, red for foul water drains. This will help you identify where any spills will end up.
Install shut-off valves on your surface and foul water drainage lines so that your site drainage may be isolated in the event of a major fuel spill.
Spills
Have a pollution incident response procedure for dealing with spills. Make sure that all staff are familiar with the procedure and know how to implement it.
PPG 21 Pollution incident response planning (Adobe PDF – 318KB)
Ensure that you have adsorbent materials and other containment equipment suitable for the type and quantity of fuel you store and use on-site.
Train all staff in what to do in the event of a spill, and how to use any spill equipment.
Report pollution incidents as soon as they happen to the emergency hotline on 0800 807060.
