The Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) has begun publishing details of all oil and chemical releases that are required by law to be notified to it. Its intention is to increase transparency within the industry.
Any release, discharge or incident where there has been, or may be, a significant effect of pollution on the environment (including any event causing escape or waste of petroleum or discharge of oil at sea) must be reported. The Petroleum Operations Notice No. 1 (PON1) is the form used by operators and permit holders to report such releases.
The published details of all reportable incidents from 1 January 2012 are now available on the DECC Website. Within the spreadsheet, data recorded from all PON1 reportable oil and chemical spill incidents are classified as either "closed" or "under review".
"Closed" PON1s are those that have been confirmed by the relevant operator, reviewed by a DECC Inspector and include details of the substance released, quantity and source. PON1 data that is still subject to further assessment or investigation is classified as "under review". The data relative to such releases will remain unpublished until closed.
It is understood that the data will be reviewed monthly by DECC. Click here to access the published details.
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The original publication date for this article was 04/04/2012.