Introduction to Fire Safety Management

Introduction to Fire Safety Management
Figure 13.2 The use of fi re fi ghting foam
bioaccumulative and toxic to mammals. Studies have
linked bladder cancer, although further work is needed
to understand this association. It is thought that PFOS
interrupts the body’s ability to produce cholesterol,
thereby affecting almost every system in the body.
Any concentration above three micrograms per
litre of water is considered to be detrimental to human
health. If PFOS is released into the environment, it can
remain present for years. In water courses, it accumulates
rapidly in fi sh. There are moves to make its use
illegal in the UK in the future.
Asbestos – asbestos is present in older buildings
and was used in hot water systems, ceilings and roof
construction. When undisturbed the risks associated with
it are minimal; however, in a fi re situation is it likely to be
disturbed and released into the atmosphere.
To cause disease, asbestos fi bres must be inhaled
into the lungs. Fibres with a diameter less than three
microns (too small to be visible to the naked eye) can
enter the lungs and cause disease. The period from
exposure to developing symptoms of disease is usually
in excess of 10 years.
Several diseases are associated with exposure to
asbestos. They are asbestosis, mesothelioma, cancer of
the lung and other asbestos-related cancers. These are
serious, debilitating diseases that often end in death. In
the next 50 years it is estimated that at least 30 people
will die each day of an asbestos-related disease.
➤ Asbestosis is characterised by a fi brosis (scarring)
of the lung tissue, which makes breathing diffi cult.
The most prominent symptom is breathlessness.
Early detection of asbestosis is possible by X-ray
examination and lung function testing. However, the
disease is irreversible and will continue to progress
even after exposure is stopped. Rarely a cause
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of death itself, asbestosis results in an appreciable
reduction in life expectancy due to deaths from
related illness.
➤ Mesothelioma is a rare cancer arising from the cells
of the pleura (lining of the chest cavity and lungs) and
the peritoneum is characterised by a long latency
period, usually at least 15 years and sometimes
more than 40. There is no effective treatment for
mesothelioma. A large proportion of mesothelioma
patients die within a year of diagnosis; few survive
longer than fi ve years. Although asbestos was once
thought to be responsible for all mesothelioma, other
causes have now been identifi ed. Still, the chance
of getting mesothelioma in the absence of asbestos
exposure is considered to be extremely remote.
Isocyanates (cyanide) – a large proportion of many dayto-day
plastics include isocyanates. These isocyanates,
when subject to fi re, break down releasing their component
parts including among others cyanide (toxic to
humans and wildlife). The chemicals released are very
likely to become airborne contaminating the air, which
when cooled, may be brought to ground with the water
used to extinguish the fi re resulting in pollution of both
the ground and water courses.
13.2 The legal obligations related to
environmental protection in the
event of fi re
In addition to the requirements of the Health and Safety
at Work Act, which require employers, the self-employed
and those in control of premises to ensure that the
safety of persons (in addition to those employed in the
work undertaking) are not affected by work activities,
there is specifi c legislation which controls environmental
pollution. This legislation is broadly concerned with discharges
of effl uent into the atmosphere and the ground
water systems.
It should be borne in mind that the civil tort of
negligence may also apply to incidents that result in loss
or harm occasioned by pollution of the environment by
fi re effl uent.
Water Industry Act 1991
The Water Industry Act 1991 controls, among other
things, the disposal of waste water and discharges into
the surface water drainage.
Waste water disposal – foul drains should carry
contaminated water, trade effl uent and domestic sewage
to a treatment works. Discharges to the public foul sewer
require authorisation by the sewerage undertaker and