Inventiveness leads to exercise close to reality

 The alerted staff cleared the area in less than three
minutes. Only afterwards did they find out that the accident
had been a very realistic exercise and what kind of oil
they had removed

One of the initiators of this exercise is Linda Lundman,
Environmental Coordinator in Norrköping since early 2008.
Together with Camilla Rosenius, Production Manager in
Växjö and the newly established environmental team
they planned the outline of the exercise, which was intended as
an eye opener for the staff as to why there are routines like
emergency preparedness.

Our biggest challenge was to find a suitable
substitute for oil, Linda says. I called the
National Rescue Services in Karlstad and the local
Environmental Health office in Växjö but they
didnt have any solution, nor did they know of any
similar exercises having been done before. Oil leakage
can be difficult to clear and cause severe damages to the
environment. But the team found a suitable substance: Rosehip
soup, a popular Swedish dessert often served with cream or
vanilla ice cream.

Well, Linda laughs, we needed a
dissolvable liquid to allow us an easy preparation of large
quantities, something that was sticky and difficult to mop up,
just like oil. So when the idea of rosehip soup came up we
thought it worth a try. Originally the rosehips needed to be
cooked with water, honey or sugar and potato flour, but
nowadays you can prepare it from processed powder and cold
water. Around 50 litres of thoroughly diluted soup was
mixed.

On the morning of 30 April a pair of strong arms helped to
knock the oil drum over while the staff suspected
nothing. Our staff was very efficient and brought
absorbents and drain covers to clear the area. The whole
exercise was over in less than three minutes! To
emphasize the gravity of the accident, Camilla
Rosenius simulated a telephone call to the National Rescue
Services. The employees were so focused on the cleansing works
that they realized only afterwards that they had been part of
an exercise. We were very pleased with the exercise and
I think that our routines will be taken more seriously from now
on.

Both the National Rescue Services and the local
Environmental Health office in Växjö have been in
touch with Linda Lundman afterwards as they were curious about
the outcome of the exercise and how the problem with the oil
substitute had been solved. The Environmental Health office was
so interested in the exercise that they even initiated
discussions with an enterprise about starting production of
fake oil to be used for this kind of simulated
accidents. Its a nice thought that maybe we are
pioneers when it comes to realistic exercises like this,
Linda says. The staff has gained new valuable experience and we
have contributed to the development of simulation training for
oil accidents.

For more information, contact: johanna.rebillon@power.alstom.com