Delay to replacement block at Thurso High School after oil leak shuts games hall
Works on temporary classrooms at Thurso High School are expected to be delayed after an oil leak at the school was discovered at the site.
Highland Council admitted there would be “some slippage” to the construction works after the leak, which it said was discovered on Friday.
However, Thurso and Northwest Caithness councillor Matthew Reiss claims the smell of oil by the river was noticed more than a week earlier by a dog walker.
He described the discharge of heating oil from a bunded tank at the school as a “serious environmental matter” which could have significant cost implications for the local authority.
The leak shut the games hall at the school, which is also used by sports clubs and members of the public, and it is unknown when it will reopen.
The independent councillor criticised the lack of information given to the public by the council, who put out a brief media release on Monday saying that it had “taken urgent measures to mitigate any contamination” from the leak.
He said: “I think the leak from the tank was ‘detected’ earlier than the quoted September 8 and it frustrates me that the media release is so uninformative for the public. This is a serious environmental matter with potentially significant extra financial costs.”
He pointed out that work on a replacement modular block may be delayed if the soil at the site is found to be contaminated, adding to the costs the council would have to pay the contractor, Morrison Construction.
The A block at the school was closed last year when it was deemed to be at risk of collapse due to being constructed with reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (Raac), a material which subsequently forced hundreds of schools in England to close as inspections took place this month.
It is understood that the heating oil was discovered seeping through the soil by Morrison workers when they were clearing ground for the new classrooms.
Cllr Reiss said: “I understand that the safety bund surrounding the oil tank, which may have contained approximately 3000 litres or 850 gallons, was found to have about 15cm of oil in it due to the tank leaking, about 10 to 12 days ago.”
He said oil had since escaped the bund and seeped into the River Thurso, and measures to capture the pollution have been put in place, presumably by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (Sepa).
Cllr Reiss said: “When people are walking up the river – and it’s an extremely popular walk – they are going to see the anti-pollution measures in place, and the first thing they are going to do is ask the council and members like us ‘what’s happening?’.
“We’re not pollution experts, but you don’t have to be. My nose was telling me everything I needed to know when I went down there – it is stinking of oil.”
He suggested that bund on the water tank was not “watertight” and claimed that could be due to a maintenance issue.
Cllr Reiss is also concerned about the implications for the River Thurso as a renowned salmon river.
“Sepa could hit the council with a bill for removing the contaminated ground,” he said. “Where the pollution has gone into the river, the opposite bank there is an SSSI, it’s pristine, there are otters there, salmon and the rest.
“The other thing is that if the site where they are putting the replacement classrooms for the A block is contaminated, my belief is that Morrison will not build on that ground for the fairly obvious reason that Sepa may require the ground to be removed.
“I also believe that Morrison are effectively being paid a day rate, so for every day there is a delay it’s going to cost the council, and the tax payer, more money.”
Highland Council failed to answer when the bunding on the oil tank was last checked, simply saying: “Investigation work is ongoing to determine the cause of the leak.”
It said the costs of removing any potentially contaminated land were unknown at the time of writing and it did not know how long the games hall at the school would be closed.
It then repeated the statement it sent to the media on Monday, with a spokesperson saying: “A heating oil leak was detected from a tank at Thurso High School on Friday, September 8.
“Highland Council has contacted Sepa and Scottish Water, and have taken urgent measures to mitigate any contamination, using specialist contractors. The heating oil tank served the games hall, and this area remains out of use until further risk assessment and remedial works are carried out.
“The school is open as normal, and investigations continue to establish the cause of the leak. The council is continuing to work with partner agencies to monitor and resolve the situation.”
The spokesperson added: “It is likely that there may be some slippage to the construction works as a result of the leak, however results from ground investigation works will better determine our next steps.”
Sepa has also been contacted for comment.
