Major accidents and disasters

Context

Chapter 15 of Volume 2 of the PEIR presents the preliminary assessment of Major Accidents and Disasters (MA&D), which considers the vulnerability of the Proposed Development to MA&D hazards and assesses the potential for the Proposed Development to cause significant environmental effects as a result of a major accident.

For example, natural hazards relevant to the Proposed Development include meteorological hazards (such as extreme weather events), geological hazards (e.g. ground collapse) and space weather (e.g. solar flares).

Relevant existing major accident hazard sources include but are not limited to: aircraft accidents, accidents associated with cargo handling and transportation centres, and to fuel storage facilities, former landfill, potential for unexploded ordnance within the Main Application Site, and the existing fuel pipeline which crosses the eastern boundary of the Main Application Site.

Mitigation measures

Measures to mitigate MA&D risks to and from the Proposed Development include but are not limited to:

Construction

• a detailed construction phasing plan is to be developed by the construction contractor which would consider the interaction of the works with airport operations and existing safety, environmental, emergency systems;
• construction contractors would be required to set up and implement accredited safety and environmental management systems, including safe systems of work. These would identify all relevant legislation that must be complied with. Regular audits would be undertaken to monitor compliance against these management systems; and
• Draft CoCP sets out requirements to minimise the risk of environmental pollution, including requirements for emergency preparedness and pollution incident response.

Operation

• the drainage strategy of the Proposed Development has been developed to accommodate 1 in 100 year rainfall events, including an allowance of 40% for increase in rainfall with climate change and incorporates pollution prevention measures;
• slopes within the earthworks design have been specified at a gradient which would mitigate the risk of slope failure that could result in a landslide;
• to mitigate the risks associated with construction over the historic landfill site, piled foundations and ground gas protection would be embedded into the design of new structures;
• the highway design of the Proposed Development has been developed to the standards set within the Design Manual for Roads and Bridges. Road Safety Audits would be carried out to inform further design development;
• the layout of the Proposed Development has been developed in consultation with the airport’s fire safety and emergency resilience officers. A fire hydrant system will be provided during Phase 2 to connect to all new aircraft stands, and the existing number of emergency water tanks around the runway will be retained. A three minute response time across the airport for the onsite rescue and firefighting service has been maintained by the Proposed Development’s design;
• the design of the proposed fuel storage facility would incorporate measures to mitigate the risk of fire and explosion;
• the Proposed Development includes a direct connection between the fuel storage facility and the existing fuel pipeline to the east of the Main Application Site. This will provide the opportunity for fuel to be delivered to site via pipeline, potentially eliminating the need for fuel to be transported to the airport via road, and therefore, removing hazardous loads from the public road network;
• uninterruptible power sources have been incorporated within the design, which would provide emergency power for critical infrastructure, if mains power fails;
• design of the Proposed Development has been developed not to attract birds in order to minimise the risk of bird strike;
• the Proposed Development will provide facilities for the on-site police service and rendezvous points for emergency services. An isolation bay has been incorporated within the airfield design, where aircraft can be directed, if required, in case of a threat or for disease control;
• the Proposed Development has been designed in compliance with relevant health and safety legislation, standards and guidance, including with regards to fire safety. In line with legal requirements, a fire risk assessment will be undertaken, and a fire plan and evacuation strategy will be implemented on site;
• the Proposed Development would operate under the Civil Aviation Authority Aerodrome Certificate and in compliance with UK aviation law and relevant guidance;
• the on-site rescue and firefighting service would remain the first-responders for any incident within the airport boundary and the on-site Luton Airport Policing Unit would continue to police the airport;
• the proposed fuel farm would be operated under a Control of Major Accidents Hazards and Hazardous Substances Consent in compliance with relevant legislative requirements; and
• the Public Safety Zone, where planning restrictions apply, would be maintained to minimise the number of people and properties at risk in case of an accident occurring during aircraft landing or take-off.

Likely significant effects

The preliminary assessment identified 30 potential MA&D hazards relevant to the Proposed Development during both construction and operation, such as extreme weather events, fire, explosion, major leaks and spillages and aircraft accidents.

In addition, the potential for construction activities to disturb the normal operation of the existing airport was considered. During operation, the Proposed Development would introduce additional aircraft movements, and therefore, the potential for an increased risk of aircraft accidents was considered.

Mitigation outlined above is considered to mitigate all MA&D risks to be as low as reasonably practicable. Therefore, the residual risks of MA&D are not likely to be significant.

Completing the assessment

To complete the assessment of MA&D, further engagement with technical stakeholders on the risk assessment and proposed mitigation will be undertaken. In addition, any changes to the design of the Proposed Development will be assessed.

Documents

PEIR Chapter 15 : Click Here

Figures

15.1 Existing Baseline Conditions : Click Here
15.2 Sensitive Receptors : Click Here
15.3 Existing Public Safety Zone : Click Here

Appendices

15.1 Environmental Risk Record : Click Here