Pollution tracked after oil blast
December 13, 2005
Environmental experts are monitoring pollution across southern England as a plume of smoke from the Hertfordshire fuel depot blasts drifts south.
A Met Office research plane, normally used to look at climate change, has been adapted to track the cloud.
Elevated levels of soot have been recorded at air quality monitoring stations across southern England.
Officials say there is no evidence the smoke is toxic, but schools within a 10-mile radius of Buncefield are shut.
Residents to the south of the Hertfordshire town have been told to keep doors and windows closed as a precaution.
'Burning freely'
The Health Protection Agency has played down possible toxicity, saying "nothing unusual" has been found at ground level.
The agency admitted higher levels of soot and dust had been found at certain sites, but said the particulates seemed to be diluting and dispersing widely.
But Ian Colbeck, professor of aerosol science at the University of Essex, said there was a possibility the cloud could become toxic.
"When petroleum is burned in a car it is burned under controlled conditions to minimise emissions.
"Here it is burning freely so you're getting a vast amount of particulate matter produced and also you may get various chemicals being absorbed on to the particulate matter - some sort of benzene, and that is carcinogenic."
Prof Colbeck was also concerned about what could happen if it rained.
He said: "If it rained quite heavily then it would wash out - you would get an oily film over your car or your pond.
"If it was more of a drizzle, it wouldn't necessarily clean the atmosphere to the same extent - you might be able to taste it in the air."
Carcinogens
Professor Roy Harrison, head of environmental health at Birmingham University, told BBC Two's Newsnight that it was a "rather worrying time".
He said: "The plume is getting lower and it is likely that people at ground level will start experiencing this smoke.
"Smoke of this type does carry chemical carcinogens."
Plume boundaries
The Met Office's Dr Jonathan Taylor, whose research plane is being used to track the cloud, said it was necessary to track its progress.
"We decided that the position of the plume needed some closer attention - its boundaries and its altitude - in order to verify the forecast trajectory model that the Met Office is currently running," he said.
Satellite images on Monday night showed the plume of smoke stretching for more that 70 miles across southern England and heading for France.
It had reached Dorset and was spreading out over Hampshire, Berkshire, West Sussex, the Isle of Wight and towards the West country.
People experiencing symptoms of smoke inhalation can contact NHS Direct on 0845 4647.
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