Environment Report 2016

ENVIRONMENT REPORT 2016

From 2010 to 2015, 2,942 tonnes of chemicals were reported in PON1s on the UKCS, representing a total of 1,132 incidents. PLONOR and low hazard category chemicals make up the majority (almost 2,252 tonnes, 77 per cent) of the mass released and the number of incidents. High and medium hazard category chemicals contributed 4.4 per cent and 3 per cent, respectively by mass, with the remaining falling into the unattributable category. The peak in unattributable releases in 2012, shown in Figure 31, is due to a single incident releasing a mixture of drilling fluids and therefore a single hazard category cannot be assigned at present There has been a 65 per cent (more than 400 tonnes) decrease in the mass of chemicals accidentally released between 2010 and 2015. The number of incidents has remained relatively stable (increasing from 162 to 167). This shows that the releases are generally of smaller amounts than in previous years.

Figure 31: Mass of Accidental Chemical Releases by Hazard Category and with Number of Releases

1,000

350

Unattributable High Medium Low PLONOR Number of Releases

900

300

800

250

700

600

200

500

150

400

Number of Releases

300

100

200

50

Accidental Chemical Release Mass (Tonnes)

100

0

0

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

Source: BEIS July 2016

Releases by Source The accidental chemical releases from 2010 to 2015 are also categorised by source. Figure 32 opposite shows annual variation in the same way as the oil releases, highlighting the anomalous, largest incidents over the last five years and reflecting the unplanned nature of releases. The unknown category encompasses the accidental releases for which no source information was given. Consequently, it is expected that these figures may change in the future as further information becomes available from BEIS. Between 2010 and 2015, production systems and related equipment contributed the majority (1,132 tonnes, 454 releases) of all accidental chemical releases, with hydraulic and subsea systems accounting for 596 tonnes (278 releases) and 517 tonnes (205 releases), respectively. Together, these three categories account for over 76 per cent of accidental releases by mass over the past six years.

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