Case Studies

Last month LCM Environmental was contracted to carry out a fuel storage tank removal and contaminated ground remediation project for a housing developer in Surrey.

The following works were carried out.

• Arrive on site and set up
• Supply and erect 2m sectional Heras fencing to secure site for intended works
• Pull up laid brickwork and stockpile on site for client
• Locate and cold cut one 15,000 litre foam filled tank
• Dispose of tank foam via licensed disposal site
• Locate and cold cut one 7,000 litre DERV
• Uplift remaining fuel bottoms, jet wash clean and certify gas free
• Uplift tank and interceptor washings and dispose of 9,000 litres of contaminated water
• Excavate tanks and associated fuel lines and dispose of via licensed disposal site
• Breakout and excavate previously unknown slurry filled tank and site interceptor
• Excavate and dispose of 60m3 (100 tons) contaminated non-hazardous material
• Breakout, excavate and stockpile on site tank cradles and bases
• Assist Environmental Consultant with soil testing and trial pitting throughout the project
• Backfill excavations with 320 tons of 6F2 imported clean recycled material - compact in 450mm layers
• Level site and remove 2m sectional Heras fencing
• Supply and erect timber fencing on site boundary as instructed by client
• Clean site and leave clean and tidy
• Demobilize from site    

The project was carried out within 9 days and to all our clients' specifications.

Once we had demobilized from site all waste transfer tickets, certificates and other relevant paperwork was collated and put together along with an LCM Completion Report, all of which was handed to the client along with a Decommissioning Certificate.

If you would like more information on our storage tank removal and contaminated ground remediation services or any of our services mentioned above, you can contact our Project Manager, Nigel Friend.

As part our Tank Management services we were called into carry out un-manned internal tank inspections and de-sludging services on two 35,000-litre fuel storage tanks.

The works carried out were as follows,

• Uplift fuel from both tanks and hold in our Petroleum Regulated Tankers polishing fuel on route eliminating any trace of contaminates
• Inert the storage tanks using Nitrogen from our Nitrogen generator
• Use our partnered company Tanknology UK's Petroscope camera to inspect the internal space of the tanks and asses their condition
• Record the inspection on DVD to be assessed by a corrosion expert along with historical information regarding date of installation, types of fuel stored etc
• Use our de-sludging device to enter the tanks and whilst being guided by the Petroscope camera uplift sludge from the tank bottoms and clean
• Use the Petroscope camera to certify sludge removal
• Unload the polished fuel back into the tanks and reinstate to working order

The project was carried out in the space of one day to minimise the amount of time that the forecourt would remain closed. Our teams carried out the project to our clients specifications and returned both tanks sludge free with cleaner than before fuel.

If you are interested in our internal tank inspection, cleaning and fuel polishing services please contact our Project Manager, Nigel Friend.

LCM Environmental were recently called out on an emergency spill response to a damaged domestic heating oil storage tank that was shared with two adjacent properties and had spilled some of its contents into both properties. The damaged was caused by a copingstone that had dislodged from a high wall landing onto the tanks outlet pipe.

The oil spill had spread to an old water well that was separated by a parting wall between the two properties. After consultation with both property owners and all appointed parties including The Environment Agency and appointed Loss Adjusters our teams began on minimising the impact of the spill.

Our teams carried out the following works to resolve the situation,

Respond to site within four hours
Carry out initial assessment and containment
Consult all parties involved on plan of works
Uplift remaining fuel from storage tank and contaminated water from water well and drains using our roadside tankers
Repair storage tank outlet pipe
Carry out some trial pitting around both properties to assess the extent of the spill

After our teams had carried out trial pitting it became apparent that the spill had only reached the water well and had not migrated further.

After a couple of weeks LCM received a phone call from the appointed Loss Adjuster asking us to return to site due to heavy rainfall flooding one of the properties cellars and that a smell of Kerosene could be detected.

Our teams responded immediately and arrived on site to assess the situation. The cellar had flooded but it had been contained in a lower ground bund. Our team called upon our roadside tanker to uplift the water from the bund, once on site the tanker also uplifted water from the storage tank bund as well as the water well.

Over the following weeks our teams returned to site to uplift the water well and to carry out air sampling using PID sampling equipment. We tested both properties on all floors, the cellars and the rear yards. No air contamination was found.

On instructions from the Loss Adjuster we also carried out borehole sampling. All samples were sent off to one of our Environmental Consultant contacts and came back negative.

If you would like more information regarding our Emergency Spill Response services or our Tanker services please contact, our Project Manager, Nigel Friend.

Late last year a small central heating fuel oil storage tank overflowed whilst being filled by a fuel supplier. Due to the fill point being at the front of the building and the storage facilities at the rear the tanker driver was out of line of sight of the storage tank, to make matters worse the system had never been fitted with an overfill prevention device to warn of an impeding overfill.

Once the storage tank had become full the fuel spilled out of a tank vent at pressure, spraying the wall and the immediate area around the tank. It also caused the secondary bund to begin to fill.

As the flow of fuel continued undeterred the bund filled until it breached the wall, causing fuel to spill alongside the building creating a major environmental incident. Once the spill was realised the driver immediately stopped the flow of fuel and contacted the relevant parties.

Due to the company involved employing an up-to-date and extensive disaster management and recovery plan, LCM Environmental were contacted within minutes of the incident and dispatched a team immediately.

On arrival at the site our team carried out a site survey to establish the extent of the spill and contamination. It was obvious that the fuel had traveled some distance along the boundary of the building and that ground remediation would be needed to clean the area and minimise the impact to the environment. It was also apparent that the bund wall had withstood the amount of fuel contained within it but the brickwork had begun to fail and fuel was leaking through.

The main priority was to stem the flow of fuel coming from the tank and bund; this was done using booms and absorbent pads to contain the spill until LCM Road Tankers arrived to uplift and remove the fuel so that further contamination would not occur.

Once the tank and bund were emptied of product they were, along with the wall, jet wash cleaned to minimise the chance of continued contamination. The tankers also removed sludge from the contaminated area around the tank and along the direction of the spill.

Due to the amount of contamination alongside the building, a small digger was brought in to remediate the ground of contaminated hazardous soils and dispose of using lined skips at a licensed disposal site.

During the works to remediate the area LCM Environmental laid tarpaulin along the access point to the storage facility, this was done to minimise the spread of contamination to other areas within close proximity to the spill.

When all contaminated materials had been disposed of LCM Environmental began to lay new soil topped with pea gravel along the access path to the tank. The secondary bund was also repaired with new brickwork and the bund cleared of any debris left after the spill.

For the storage tank to be compliant with The Control of Pollution Regulations 2001-2004 Act, set and enforced by the Environment Agency, a new fill cabinet and new pipe work connected to the storage tank had to be installed. The system also had to include an overfill prevention device with a high and low level alarms for both the tank and the bund. A digital level gauge was also installed for accurate readings on the level of fuel in the tank.

This type of spill is an all to common incident that can be easily avoided with the right type of knowledge and equipment, if you would like more information on our Spill Response services or how we can help you maintain your storage facilities please contact our OFTEC Team Leader Alex Hocking or our Incident Response Team Leader Tim Bown.

After receiving a phone call from an appointed Loss Adjuster regarding a potential heating oil leak at a domestic property in the Bristol area. Our Incident Response Team Leader, Tim Bown, mobilized to site. On arrival he carried out an initial assessment of the cause of the spill and the extent of damage that had been caused.

It was obvious that the fuel feed pipe running underneath the ground floor of the property had failed causing extensive damage to the inside of the property with the smell of Kerosene emanating through the floor.

The area where the line had failed was soaked through with heating oil and samples were needed to verify the extent of the contamination, along with air samples, ground samples were sent off to one of our Environmental Consultant contacts. Before the samples could be taken though the whole area had to be scanned with a Cat & Genny and sketched out to determine where all pipe work, electrical cables and the fuel line where situated.

Once a detailed sketch of the floor had been carried out Tim Bown took the samples and scheduled one of our teams to arrive on site to carry out the necessary work needed to decontaminate the area once the samples had been analyzed.

When our team returned to site they began by removing the paving slabs in the rear yard between the storage tank and the property and carried out detailed investigations and some small amounts of remediation work. It became obvious that the fuel line had not failed on the outside of the property but on the inside. The existing line was cut loose and a new line was installed, the excavations were then backfilled and the paving slabs replaced.

Inside the property our team used the floor sketch and began to cut away the section of contaminated concrete floor being careful to avoid all cables and pipe work.

Our team remediated the whole of the contaminated area down to a depth of 500mm, this involved removing sections of the damp proof membrane (DPM) as the contamination had seeped through and damaged it. The ground adjacent to the walls was still contaminated at this depth so they proceeded to dig down to the buildings footings and removed the contaminated soil along both walls.

The excavation was then backfilled with clean aggregate to the level of the DPM and compacted using a plate compactor. A new sheet of DPM was bonded into the existing undamaged DPM. Concrete was laid with re-enforcing mesh up to screed level with screed then being laid and floated to existing floor level.

The project was completed on time and to our clients' specifications.

If you would like more information on our Emergency Spill Response services you can contact our Incident Response Team Leader, Tim Bown.

An International Airport in the South West called upon of LCM Environmental to carry out Tank Inspections on two of their above ground storage tanks and summarise whether they were serviceable.

Our Tank Cleaning & Inspection Manager, Glenn Nicholls, arranged a convenient time to carry out the inspections. As both tanks were 55,000 litres each and our client wanted us to carry out internal Non-Destructive Testing (NDT) it was necessary for our Tank Cleaning and Inspections teams to carry out manned entry to check for apparent holes, leaks and check the thickness of the tank walls.

Before our teams could carry out their inspections both tanks had to be uplifted of AVTUR FS1 fuel and transferred to another tank on site, this was made possible using LCM Environmentals Petroleum Regulated Tankers which were able to carry all of the fuel for transfer and bottom out the dregs for disposal off site.

Once our teams had carried out an external inspection of the tanks and all of their ancillary equipment, i.e. secondary containments, fill points and draw off lines, our manned entry systems, including Breathing Apparatus, lowering harnesses and emergency recovery harnesses, were set up to lower our teams into the tanks.

Once inside the tank our teams carried out general clearance and a quick clean using a jet washer and uplift hose attached to one of our multi pot tankers. The teams then proceeded to carry out NDT on all tank walls using intrinsically safe Cygnus 1 Ultrasonic testing equipment. This instrument can read the thickness of the steel tank walls without causing damage to the tank. It enables our teams to calculate whether the tank has suffered unserviceable damage to its integrity via corrosive damage or general wear through fill points etc.

To gauge whether the integrity of the tank has been compromised tests using the NDT are taken every couple of inches on every wall once a spot is found to be effected by corrosion etc it is marked.

Once all of the inspections are carried out our teams put together a report for our client including recommendations as to whether the storage facilities are serviceable and what has to be done to bring them up to standard.

In this case the first tank was in good order with only minor corrosion on the external of the tank. The second tank was in worst condition with extensive corrosion on the external of the tank, which was effecting the integrity of the internal space of the tank with, in some places, water entering the tank and mixing with the fuel.

Our Tank Cleaning Manager, Glenn Nicholls, put together a cost of what would needed to be done to the tanks to bring them up to standard and we are returning shortly to carry out the work which is expected to take one of our Tank Maintenance teams 2 weeks.

If you would like more information on our Tank Inspection services please contact our Tank Cleaning & Inspection Manager, Glenn Nichols.

Late last year a Site Interceptor containing a large amount of Oil and Diesel on a garage forecourt in the South West overflowed due to heavy rainfall, discharging contaminated water into the surrounding area and an adjacent site.

A Chartered Loss Adjusters was appointed by the Insurers to resolve the situation. After receiving the site specifics the Loss Adjuster contacted LCM Environmentals Incident Management and Response Team Leader, Tim Bown and a team was dispatched to the site.

LCM Environmental were able to respond within hours of the spill and, after taking instructions from the Loss Adjuster regarding insured and non-insured elements, they commenced the necessary assessment, containment and clean up operations essential in minimising the environmental consequences. During the assessment, it became obvious that the contamination had spread over a large area and had affected neighbouring woodland and an adjacent site being used for re-laying of new water mains pipework.

Due to the run off from the Interceptor being flushed through and the heavy rainfall from that week previous, the water run-off points throughout the site had been deposited with contaminated silt and sludge, due to this contaminated water had pooled in areas that would of normally run off. The contamination in the water was obvious and needed to be resolved quickly to stop the spread of contamination should further rainfall occur.

Using Vacuum Tankers, LCM Environmental began work to uplift the contaminated water and deposit it into a mobile on site storage tank, ready for disposal at a licensed site. This process was used due to the water containing very fine clay silt, which could not be managed using the normal method of on site separators to discharge clean water into local foul drainage.

Due to the woodland area and the majority of the contaminated soils being so far from a safe access point for the tankers, LCM Environmental set up a system of pipe work and tractor pulled tankers to work around the clock to remove the soil and sludge.

Finally swing shovel excavators were used to remove the remaining Non-Hazardous Contaminated Materials found in the woodland area by using lined skips that were taken to a licensed disposal site. Temporary dams were built to prevent recontamination during the work.

As a failsafe, soil samples were also obtained and sent away for analysis by an Environmental Consultant. This was done to guarantee that the areas affected by the contamination had been completely nuetralised.

During this incident LCM Environmental liaised with the local council, local water board, the Environment Agency and all other parties involved in a professional and effective manner to minimize the impact on the environment and complete the works as soon as possible.

If you would like more information on our Spill Response Services, please contact our Incident Response Team Leader Tim Bown.

The last place you would expect thousands of pounds worth of damage to be caused would be at a quiet churchyard in West Somerset. Perhaps that was not the intent of the vandals when they clambered all over the recently filled heating oil tank at a Church in Minehead.

Unfortunately due to their antics the storage tank pipe work that feeds the churches boiler was dislodged causing several hundred litres of heating oil to spill out into the surrounding environment.

The spill wasn't immediately noticed and it wasn't until the church became unusually cold that the spill was spotted.

The church rang their insurance company and explained what had happened. The Insurance Company rang their appointed Loss Adjuster for the area who after inspection of the tank contacted our Incident Response Team Leader, Tim Bown.

Tim immediately left for Minehead and was there within 2 hours to commence mitigation of the spill. Unfortunately as the spill had gone unnoticed for such a long period of time the oil had tracked underneath a nearby footpath and spread uneasily close to old graves.

After several weeks of negotiation and consideration between all parties concerned  a solution was agreed that involved removal of as much contaminated material as possible whilst protecting the integrity of existing graves and monuments.
Liaison with the Environment Agency, Local Council, the client and the appointed Loss Adjuster was lead by Tim Bown and supported by our Environmental Consultant contact, Giles Lock of EPS, who was brought in to help with the tracking of the spill and guarantee that all contaminated material had been identified.


Once the solution had been agreed our Incident Response teams began work, a lot of hand digging took place until all contaminated material had been removed. Reinstatement of clean backfill and re-laying of the footpath through the graveyard completed the job.

We also installed new pipe work that was protected by a crash cage, in case the vandals decided to return.

Access to the Church was maintained at all times and no services were disrupted during the work.

The Church Reverend wrote to LCM Environmental after the work had been completed and our teams had left site,

'Mr Bown assisted us in every way, at each stage of the project. We found his professional attention, understanding and sound advice invaluable as we dealt with what was, potentially, a very stressful situation.'

If you are interested in our Incident Management & Response services please contact our Incident Response Team Leader, Tim Bown.

Dorchester Hospital is a District General Hospital serving the population of South Dorset. As with most Hospitals it is forever expanding and increasing its demand for reliable facilities on site.

Like most District Hospitals Dorchester needs to operate 24/7 and manage if there is a power cut, this means that the hospitals fuel storage facilities and supply are critical resources that need to be maintained on a regular basis.

Dorchester Hospital operates a small tank farm that consists of three vertical tanks all of which LCM Environmental were tasked to rotate and polish the fuel in turn. Manned entry to the tanks was carried out for tank cleaning, inspection and maintenance. Fuel lines were also drained and flushed through.

The project required that the installation remained operational throughout; this meant that only one tank could be out of commission at a time.

The project was a success and was completed on time and to our client's specifications.

If you are interested in our OFTEC Tank Cleaning and Fuel Polishing services contact our OFTEC Manager, Alex Hocking.

Over the last twenty years LCM Environmental has carried out projects on the majority of MOD bases and sites throughout the UK. One of those sites is Devonport Naval Base in Plymouth. The 650 acre site is owned and operated by Devonport Management Limited (DML), the dockyard provides berthing, servicing and maintenance for ships of the Royal Navy, Royal Fleet Auxiliary, the Royal Navy's Nuclear Submarines as well as undertaking a limited number of commercial ship build and refits.

Due to the site being one of the MOD's flagship dockyards it is, as you can imagine, hard gaining access to. The level of security required to work on such sites means all our equipment and staff are subject to the MOD's stringent measures.

At LCM Environmental we have worked for the MOD, DML and other contractors on site for many years, we have carried out numerous projects from minor small works to major decommissions. Over those years we have engrained ourselves upon Devonport dockyard and it's contractors with our experience and expertise and we are now their Fuel Storage Facilities specialists.

The dockyard has a number of fuel barges that are towed by tugs to sit alongside approaching or moored vessels to enable them to run as normal whilst their own fuel supply and bunkers are cleaned and maintained. They also serve as refill barges topping up vessels fuel supplies before heading back out to sea.

From time to time these barges need to be cleaned and LCM Environmental has been tasked with the job.

The barges present a few unique issues that we have had to overcome. Obviously as they are situated in the water and some moored off of the dockyard key, the topside of the barges are very small with only one gangplank on and off, the storage tanks situated inside the barge are of an awkward shape and size and the surface of the gangplank and barge can become very slippery. These issues present our teams with a unique high-risk project to plan and carry out.

To add to these hazardous issues, whilst the project was been carried out in early December the weather was cold and icy. All staff wore lifejackets and pressure washed the barge before commencing work, being careful to capture all washings to prevent forcing contaminated water into the River Tamar.

The tank cleans involved manned entry to guarantee the internal space was as clean as possible. All washings were collected in one of our vacuum tankers and transported to a licensed waste disposal site.

Our Tank Cleaning teams worked hard returned the fuel barges' to work on schedule despite the icy weather and hazardous conditions.

If you are interested in our Tank Cleaning services, please contact our Tank Care Project Manager, Nigel Friend.

Earlier this year LCM Environmental was asked to tender for a Site Decommission and Remediation project at a garage forecourt in Christchurch, Dorset. With the tender excepted we began planning the project in conjunction with Arcadis GMI.

We attended site and started to demolish the forecourt shop and car wash, once they were down and all materials were removed from site, we installed sheet piling to protect the boundary of the site and a public footpath, which ran alongside the boundary. Once the sheet piling was in place we began to excavate and dispose of soils from two potentially contaminated areas on the site.

From previous works and records we were aware that the site had a high water table and that the excavations would need to be de-watered using an on site separator before a remediation system could be installed, the extent of the water level is clearly visible in the images you can see.

When the excavations were cleared and de-watered our teams installed three separate remediation systems, under the supervision of Arcadis GMI, once the systems were in place they were covered with shingle and the water trapped within the system was sprinkled with an Oxygen Releasing Compound to aid the release of the Hydrocarbons within the water and soils.

The excavations were then backfilled using recycled crushed concrete and the site leveled off.

The remediation system was secured with a breathable cover so that the Oxygen Releasing Compound working on breaking down the Hydrocarbons could release its byproduct (Oxygen) into the air and not the soil.

The remediation system will stay in situ until it is deemed that the levels of Hydrocarbons have dropped to a satisfactory level.

If you would like any more information regarding Site Decommissioning and Remediation services please feel free to contact our Tank Care Project Manager, Nigel Friend.

A project carried out by LCM Environmental in May 2007 involved the removal of three semi-buried fuel tanks from the MOD base adjacent to Newquay airport.

Each tank had been specially designed and built to carry out the needs of a multi functional MOD base. The tanks were semi-buried in steel lined concrete and each tank consisted of the following specifications,

Capacity  235,000 litres
Weight    32 tons
Length    23 metres
Height    4.1 metres

Once the tank were de-gassed, cleaned and broken free from their cradles two seventy-two ton cranes were brought in to lift them on to specially designed and manufactured rollers. When in place on the rollers the tanks were rotated ninety degrees to fit onto the specially ordered low loader lorries.

The transportation of the tanks to Goole in West Yorkshire required movement orders and police escorts from the airport.

The project was completed on time and to all of our clients specifications. If you would like more information on our Tank Removal services please contact our Tank Care Project Manager Nigel Friend.