Call for prosecution on oil spill

Legal action ought to be taken against the Petroplus company for the latest kerosene leak from its tank storage facility near Milford Haven.

This is the opinion of environmental pressure group Pembrokeshire Friends of the Earth, which is calling on the Environment Agency to prosecute Petroplus under Section 85 of the Water Resources Act (1991).

An estimated 500 tonnes of the fuel has leaked over recent days from a storage tank and mopping up operations are taking place at three separate locations near Hazelbeach. This is the second such leak from this storage tank in four years.

Friends of the Earth spokesperson, Gordon James, said:

"There is no excuse for this sort of polluting incident within an area of high environmental value such as the Milford Haven waterway.

"This area, along with much of the Pembrokeshire coast marine environment, has been designated a Special Area of Conservation because it is an internationally important marine habitat. As such, industrial operations affecting the waterway should operate to the highest environmental standards. As this is the second leak in four years from the same tank, this clearly is not happening at Petroplus."

The group also believes that this incident justifies the concerns voiced by many local people and experts about the unacceptable risks posed by plans to import hazardous LNG to Milford Haven.

Baz Samhradh, coordinator of Pembrokeshire Friends of the Earth, said:

"The fact that this site is operated by Petroplus does not auger well for the arrival of LNG. A mishap with oil is bad enough on its own, but a similar mistake with LNG could have catastrophic consequences for the surrounding populations. This spillage ought to send a shiver down the spine of supporters of the LNG plans for Milford Haven."

Friends of the Earth claims that oil pollution incidents such as this are far too common. Official figures obtained by them (from the Environmental Data Services Report) show that, in 2003, there were an alarming 4,650 reported oil pollution incidents in the UK but even this is believed to be a major underestimate.