| Company: | DMS Chromium Plating Ltd |
|---|---|
| Business: | Electroplating metal on to plastic |
| Employees: | TBC |
The Business Sustain Team helped a company consider the environmental impacts their activities might have, this led to the company working to put in place physical containment measures, such as bunds and sumps to prevent a major environmental incident occurring on site.
DMS Chromium Plating Ltd. is an SME (Small or Medium-sized Enterprise) located in the Kidderminster area that offers the rare service of electroplating metal on to plastic. After contacting our Environmental Advice Service, the company realised that the physical protection measures present on the site were inadequate for the products stored in order to carry out plating processes. These included chrome, acids, oils and various other chemicals. The site originally held these on small drip-trays over open ground. Nitric acid was stored in a bunded tank but again over open ground. Running directly behind the site is a canal. Initially the ground was checked for contamination, when clear the entire yard and outside storage area of the site was concreted and an integral bund was incorporated into the concrete area. This was fenced off, as was the perimeter of the yard. Existing sumps and interceptors were retained. A couple of months later the worst case scenario occurred – a nitric acid tank, due to be decommissioned the following day, sprung a leak resulting in 200 litres (44 gallons) of nitric acid pouring out into the yard.
The Environment Agency was called in and assessed the situation. Luckily, due to the preventative measures that DMS had put in place, all the acid was contained by interceptors and the company were able to have the acid taken away by licensed contractors with minimal environmental impact. However, if this incident had happened 12 months previously the impacts and the costs to DMS would have been much greater. The Environment Agency estimated the clean up cost would have been over £100,000 not to mention fines and court costs due to the inevitable contamination of open ground and possible pollution of the nearby canal.
The initial outlay to make the site environmentally sound was £40 – 70,000. What would seem a large cost has actually saved DMS not just financially but legally and reputation wise too.
"Remedial work did cost money – but nowhere near the cost to the company and the environment that we would have faced without it."
Steve Grimsley Managing Director
