Councillor raises concerns after school oil tank spills into waterway

Concerns of further environmental risks have been raised as schools across Northern Ireland fill their high capacity heating oil tanks after the summer break.

The regularity of safety checks on the tanks have been brought into question as the full effects of the recent kerosene into the Lagan waterways continues to be investigated.

Councillor Pat Catney said: “The EA has failed in its duty of care to this school and unfortunately other such schools could also be affected.

“The life span of these types of oil tanks is about 20 years. The EA should be round to its schools checking on the condition of oil tanks especially when children are going back to school after a long summer break.”

A spokesperson for the Education Authority (EA) said: “The EA was alerted to an incident involving a leak from an oil tank at Harmony Hill Primary School on the morning of Tuesday, September 3.

“Following an initial assessment of the site, contractors were able to stop the leak, and the damaged oil tank was replaced. Any oil, which had spilled in the immediate vicinity of the tank was cleared and the area made safe.

“The EA is continuing to engage with officials from the Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA) in relation to the incident.”

A NIEA spokesperson said: “NIEA received a report via the Incident Hotline at 09.07 on Tuesday September 3, 2024 of oil impacting a waterway in the Lisburn area.

“A Water Quality Inspector was tasked to investigate and confirmed the presence of kerosene in the waterway.

“Investigations revealed the source of the oil to be a heating oil tank that had leaked into an adjacent stormwater system.

“The oil within the leaking tank was immediately contained and remaining oil was transferred to a replacement tank the following day.

“NIEA monitored the impact of the oil on the receiving watercourse to determine if further action is required and is working with the responsible party to ensure there is no recurrence.”