gekko513 said:
I wonder what effect this will have on the environment,
Luckily, it was refined product not crude product, so it actually burns fairly cleanly. The main environmental concerns are carbon particulates (think smoke inhilation), hydrocarbons, and carbon monoxide release.
The main health risk is currently to Humans and animals who suffer from breathing complaints such as Asthema and Emphysema. In rare or extreme circumstances, it can trigger chest infections and sore eyes.
Longer-term risks include contamination of the food chain as the toxins are washed out of the atmosphere as "black rain", contaminating grazing grass (potentially stopping or contaminating milk and meat supplies) and crops.
The other risks concern the use of the foam that firefighters are using on the fire and unburned fuel seeping into the ground, water courses and contaminating water supplies. The emergency services and environmental agency are working hard to minimise these risks.
What will it do to the oil prices? 260 million litres of fuel is involved. Will there be fuel shortage?
The fuel sounds like a lot, but it isn't really. It equates to about 7% of the fuel store (the site is the 5th largest in the country, but there are 43 other similar sites - this site mainly supplied Hertfordshire, Buckinghamshire and one other neighbouring county (but I can't recall which one).
There is enough spare capacity in the system to easily make up for the 'missing' 7%. The main problem is one of logistics - getting the 400-odd lorries that normally visit this site each day to collect from various alternative sites instead.
There won't be a fuel shortage as long as consumers don't panic-buy petrol.
