Water and HazMat liquid retention in case of incidents!
For companies that handle hazardous substances, it is the worst-case scenario: If an operational disruption results in the uncontrolled release of large quantities of dangerous substances, there is a risk of severe consequences for people and the environment. In particular, the case of fire, where the fire brigade's extinguishing water comes into contact with hazardous operating materials, is a typical risk that plant operators have to reckon with and take precautions for. In the following, we look at specific accident scenarios affecting your company. We provide an overview of your legal obligations as an operator and present the appropriate solutions for product and extinguishing water retention.
Stop the spread at an early stage - prevent serious damage
Although responsible companies give top priority to the issues of safety and environmental protection, damage events from the past show that despite extensive safety precautions, operational disruptions can never be completely ruled out. Unfortunately, it happens repeatedly that, for example, contaminated extinguishing water from fires gets into surrounding waters and causes massive damage. The consequences are borne not only by the environment and the animal population but also by employees and people in the neighborhood. If, for example, the groundwater is affected by contamination, there is sometimes a risk of severe damage to the health of residents. To decisively limit the extent of damage in the event of operational disruptions, measures for product and extinguishing water retention are of great importance. They do not prevent the operational disruption itself - but they effectively help stop the spread of hazardous liquids early and prevent them from spreading uncontrollably into surrounding areas, soils, and water bodies.
General operator obligations and possible plant incidents that you should keep in mind
In preparation for possible plant incidents, plant operators must take precautions to prevent hazardous substances from escaping into the environment as far as possible. It is an essential requirement that facilities must be planned, constructed, and operated in such a way that in the event of an incident, mixtures that may contain leaked substances hazardous to water are retained. In addition, operators must implement preventive measures to keep the effects of plant incidents as low as possible: If, in the event of an incident, it cannot be ruled out that substances hazardous to water will escape from parts of the installation, the operator must immediately take measures to limit the damage.
In connection with the leakage of water-polluting liquids, companies usually have to deal either with major product leaks from plants or fire incidents where, for example, contaminated extinguishing water must be retained.
When identifying possible sources of danger, the following reasons, in particular, should be taken into account:
Plant-related sources of danger
Environmental sources of danger, such as earthquakes or floods
Tampering by unauthorized persons
Scenario 1: Major product leakage from plants
Spills of large quantities of hazardous substances can have a variety of causes. There is a long list of damage events and operational malfunctions in local industrial plants. Critical accident blackspots are, for example, pipelines in which liquids hazardous to water are conveyed. Here are some examples of frequently identified causes of accidents:
Damage due to collision with operating vehicles
Unnoticed corrosion damage/material wear
Operating errors
Malfunctions in the process control system
Storm damage
If, in the event of a corresponding plant incident, it cannot be ruled out that substances hazardous to water will escape from parts of the plant, the operator is legally obliged to take immediate measures to limit the damage.
Case study: Toluene release in Cologne
A truck-mounted crane hit a toluene loading pipeline. The pipeline was damaged, and toluene leaked into the ground. A recognized expert is investigating the detailed causes and the sequence of events as part of a safety inspection.
Case study: Crude oil release in Gelsenkirchen
A crude oil leak (approx. 2,100 kg) occurred due to internal corrosion in a pipe system with no flow - a so-called dead branch. The leak's location was in the circulation pipe of a storage tank. The circulation pump was immediately shut down, and the leaked product was taken up as far as possible using a suction truck. The contaminated soil was removed (90-100 m3) and disposed of properly. The leaked product did not taint the groundwater.
Case study: Zinc sulfate release in Duisburg
A worker wanted to clear a blocked pipeline between the tank and the pump. He closed a hand valve on the tank (capacity 15,000 l) and opened the pipeline in front of the pump. The hand valve was not completely closed, so the zinc sulfate raw solution (approx. 15 % Zn) leaked out of the tank after unblocking the pipe. The employee opened the drain valve of the container and emptied it into the catch basin. However, part of the solution ran into the raw materials hall via the open pipe in front of the pump. Despite the company's containment measures, about 500 l ran over the western gate onto the open area in front of the hall. From there, it entered the 6-chamber basin via the company's sewer system. All surrounding sewer inlets were immediately closed with sewer covers. However, one sewer inlet was blocked with a pallet. When this was discovered, the outlet of the 6-chamber basin towards the sewer system was immediately closed. It cannot be ruled out that Zn-contaminated wastewater entered the public sewer system via the 6-chamber basin. It is assumed that approx. 50 l of the raw solution was released.
Source: North Rhine-Westphalia (Germany) State Agency for Nature, Environment and Consumer Protection
Scenario 2: Fire incident / contaminated extinguishing water
The retention of extinguishing water plays a vital role in plant-related water protection. Suppose the extinguishing water is contaminated with water-polluting production, auxiliary, or operating materials in the event of a fire. In that case, it can cause considerable consequential damage as soon as it enters surrounding bodies of water or seeps into the ground. This potential danger is also notably recognized by the legislator. Thus, it explicitly obliges operators of facilities for handling substances hazardous to water to take state-of-the-art measures to retain the contaminated extinguishing water in the event of a fire:
"Facilities must be planned, constructed, and operated in such a way that substances hazardous to water, extinguishing, sprinkling and cooling water escaping in the event of fire incidents, as well as the resulting combustion products with properties hazardous to water, are retained following the generally recognized rules of technology."
Technical solutions for product and extinguishing water retention
There are various technical options for preventing the extinguishing water produced during firefighting or hazardous substances escaping from installations from spreading uncontrolled. A possible distinction between different containment facilities and systems can be made based on their functionality:
Self-operating systems
Self-operating systems are stationary solutions in which product or extinguishing water retention is provided without initiating additional triggering measures.
| Constructional solutions, e.g. |
|---|
| Extinguishing water retention basins outside buildings into which the extinguishing water can flow without the use of pumps. |
| Use of the existing wastewater sewer system |
| Designing the floor area of storage buildings as a catchment area (by means of upstands, door thresholds, ramps and catchment channels). |
| Sufficiently dimensioned rainwater relief basins of the wastewater treatment plant, if dimensioning and rapid emptying allow this |
| Liquid-tight open storage areas and loading zones with a slope, which are secured against uncontrolled run-off towards the edge by a circumferential upstand. |
| Stowage volumes within the buildings (e.g. basement) and special collection rooms (in the case of flammable liquids, sufficient mechanical ventilation must be ensured). |
| Empty tanks with corresponding supply system without pumps |
Non-automatic systems
Systems that are not automatically effective enable product or extinguishing water retention only after introducing technical and organizational measures. A distinction is made here between stationary and mobile variants, among others.
| Stationary automatic systems, e.g. |
|---|
| Extinguishing water retention basins into which the extinguishing water is pumped by automatically controlled pumps in the event of a fire. |
| Automatically controlled extinguishing water barriers that are activated in the event of a fire by the detection of fire parameters, e.g. smoke or heat, and automatically move into the shut-off position. |
| Stationary manually triggered systems, e.g. |
|---|
| Manually triggered liquid barriers which are permanently installed in their holders and are moved into the shut-off position by manual triggering, i.e. by muscle power, stored energy (weight force, spring force) or auxiliary energy (e .g. electric, hydraulic, pneumatic). |
| Stationary liquid barriers to be used manually, which are inserted by hand into holders permanently installed for this purpose at the place of use. |
| Mobile systems, e.g. |
|---|
| Mobile liquid barriers, e.g. for filling with water |
| Drain seals |
| Mobile collection containers (leakage trays, leakage collection tarpaulins, etc.) |
| Sealing plugs |
Manual insertable and pivoted BARRIERs FOR PROTECTION AGAINST CHEMICAL LIQUIDS AND FLOODs
Loading docks and step ramps
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