View Full Version : Massive fuel spillage at RAF Mildenhall
G-CPTN
26th Apr 2007, 13:44
A clean-up operation is taking place at a US military base in Suffolk after 54,000 gallons of fuel was spilt.
The jet fuel was accidentally released at RAF Mildenhall on Friday and an operation is taking place to remove contaminated soil.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/suffolk/6591719.stm
Weasel123
26th Apr 2007, 15:21
I work for an oil company, and if we have even a 100 ltr spill we are liable to have the environment agency come down on us like a ton of bricks.
USAF? 240,000ltrs? Probably just a finger wagging!!
Don't know if it's a major tank split or if they had a pipeline delivery that went wrong!
For those who can't visualise that quantity, just think of it as 7 artic tanker loads!
oli,_the_original
26th Apr 2007, 15:58
They make it sound so trivial:ugh:
G-CPTN
26th Apr 2007, 17:47
Doesn't feature as 'news' on their website (http://www.mildenhall.af.mil/news/).
Do you think that the original incident occurred on Friday, it wasn't detected until earlier this week?
JagRigger
26th Apr 2007, 18:02
My understanding is a pipe next to the runway was damaged by workers, and it was low delivery pressure when refueling that alerted the engineers to a potential problem.
Local paper has a story at:
http://new.edp24.co.uk/content/news/story.aspx?brand=EDPOnline&category=News&tBrand=edponline&tCategory=news&itemid=NOED25%20Apr%202007%2017%3A51%3A01%3A060
ZH875
26th Apr 2007, 18:10
Cor blimey, 54,000 Gallons, now if that was petrol, it would get the average American car at least twice around the peri-track.
Maybe that's why they treat it like a small spillage.
Fox3snapshot
26th Apr 2007, 18:27
Add that to the daily fuel dumps here in the sandpit with the USAF tankers conducting 'weight adjustment' for landing or very regular emergencies and we are talking an inconceivable amount of wastage.... and pollution :hmm:
brickhistory
26th Apr 2007, 19:18
Cor blimey, 54,000 Gallons, now if that was petrol, it would get the average American car at least twice around the peri-track.
Maybe that's why they treat it like a small spillage.
Now, now, let's not be jealous. You've got better beer (with some US microbrewery exceptions) we've got cars with V-10s.
Corrona
26th Apr 2007, 20:33
doesn't that stuff all come from the ground in the first place? can't see what the big deal is.
anartificialhorizon
27th Apr 2007, 04:02
I think most of the water in Suffolk and certainly around the Mildenhall area comes from underground sources......
That must be a real worry with 54,000 gallons of jet fuel possibly seeping into the water table.....
Might be the same building contractor who laid my driveway :rolleyes: :D
green granite
27th Apr 2007, 07:19
Why not just set fire to it?......... nothing left to pollute the water then.:}
Pontius Navigator
27th Apr 2007, 08:47
I think most of the water in Suffolk and certainly around the Mildenhall area comes from underground sources......
In India they keep trying to run their little taxis on water. Maybe they import the water from Suffolk :}
groundbum
27th Apr 2007, 11:39
doesn't the USAF reconcile where their fuel was going? that is a huge volume of fuel and you would think somebody back at the fuel farm would have wondered where the stuff was going vis-a-vis the tickets recording deliveries and so forth!
GOLF_BRAVO_ZULU
27th Apr 2007, 11:55
Depends on which side of the metering point the leak was. The amount the Station draws from the bulk supply every day could well mask the "stocktaking discrepancy".
advocatusDIABOLI
27th Apr 2007, 14:48
On certain USAF bases, the 'Wing Kings' drive around in Electric Carts. This is to show everyone how enviromentally considerate they are. However, everyone on base drives to and from work in monumental trucks...... me thinks they might have missed the point in some small way.
Advo
Pom Pax
28th Apr 2007, 04:55
Isleham which is 2 miles West of Mildenhall has an Anglian water treatment plant for local boreholes.
54,000 gallons lost? Better nip out to - errmm - Iraq and get some more.