Fig. 26 Environmental aspects of the refinery

Tanker jetties
Coryton has five jetties for the loading and unloading of ships. The deepest water jetty extends off fig. 26 to the left.

Water treatment plant
Coryton has its own water treatment plant to treat both surface runoff and the water used for cooling.

Refinery moat system
A moat around the refinery collects all surface water and diverts it to the water treatment plant where it is treated before being returned to the river. Further details (page 11)

Flood prevention barrier
This part of Essex is very low lying and liable to flooding. In the devastating floods of 1953 much of this area was under water and 59 people died. The flood barriers is constructed of steel sheets embedded in earth bank and covered with concrete.

Oil storage tanks
The largest oil storage tank can hold 80,000 tonnes of oil. The tops of the tanks which hold crude oils and volatile products are floating so that there is no air space between the oil and the roof. This prevents the build up of gases an dthus increases safety and prevents the release of gases to the atmosphere.

Bunds
Embankments called bund surround small groups of storage tanks. These are about 2 metres high and constructed of chalk rubble. If there should b a leak from a tank, oil would be confined to this small area and would then be removed before it could seep into the ground.

Water outfalls
The refinery has two water outfalls: treated surface water from rainfall goes in to the River Thames and cooling water, after treatment, into Holehaven Creek (sse page 12 for details).

Chimney stacks
Chimney stacks are very tall to dilute any emissions and disperse them rapidly into the atmosphere.