Where do red or blue colour-coded drains actually go to?

Emergency preparedness

Where do red or blue colour-coded drains actually go to?

During a visit to a manufacturing plant the other day, I was pleased to note that the drains were all clearly marked with blue and red paint. As you may be aware, this is a fairly standard means of colour-coding, so I knew what it meant.

However, the operatives I spoke to didn’t know what the colours meant.  Do you and your employees know where different drains go to? Do they understand the implications?

I loved these drain covers I saw in Vancouver, which make it absolutely clear that the drains lead to a local fish habitat.

Is your emergency preparedness adequate?

One of the (many) environmental impacts of Hurricane Harvey was a toxic plume from a chemical storage facility. The flooding associated with the storm had left them without power, which they needed to keep the chemicals cool enough to remain stable.

I don’t know what emergency preparedness planning they had put into place, but clearly it wasn’t effective under those conditions.

We are experiencing more heavy rainfall and more flooding here in the UK. We are also expecting to have more heatwaves.

Are your emergency plans adequate to effectively respond to significant weather events? What are the environmental and business implications if they’re not?