The tests are being carried out by firefighters from the London Fire Brigade with the support of the Chief Fire Officers Association (CFOA).
CFOA will study the affects of fire on a number of waste material streams at the Essex-based site, including solid recovered fuels (SRF), refuse derived fuels (RDF), plastics and tyres.
It is hoped the tests will establish the flammable properties of the materials, with analysis of how rising columns of gas, wind-current effects and smouldering all contribute to fuel waste fires.
The latest round of fire tests in Barling follows the completion of tests involving waste wood stacks in Yorkshire, which were carried out in November 2015 after a number of delays and setbacks (see letsrecycle.com story).
Test
Each trial at Barling is based around a ‘rig test’ with a range of thermo couples which are fed into a data logger. Equipment is then checked, wind direction confirmed and safety measures put in place before the waste is ignited.
Commenting on the tests, Chris Jones, director of risk management and compliance at Cory, explained that the research is being conducted in a controlled environment, away from every day running of the landfill site.
As chairman of the Waste Industry Safety & Health (WISH), Mr Jones has played an instrumental role in revising fire control guidance for waste operators in conjunction with the Environment Agency and CFOA (see letsrecycle.com story).
He said: “The tests are critically important to the industry and the understanding of industry fires. We are happy to be able to support them. The tests are being undertaken in an area formerly used for aggregate processing which is away from the landfill and does not affect our operations.”
Tactics
A spokesperson for the CFOA added that the outcome of the tests would allow local fire services to use ‘smarter tactics’ to address waste fires.
CFOA said: “This is one of a number of ground-breaking tests and trials we are conducting to test a variety of waste materials. By carrying out these tests we will be able to establish key scientific data which will support and influence future fire safety guidance along with how these materials should be stored to reduce risk.”
The tests are due to be completed in the coming weeks, with provisional findings announced in March.
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