Quick to act on (environmental) incidents on the Afsluitdijk

Careful work is done on the Afsluitdijk, yet incidents sometimes occur that can have an impact on the environment. Ecoloss is called in to prevent or reduce those consequences. These include accidents involving hazardous substances, fuels and oil products. Quick action is required, and so the Ecoloss team springs into action.

"All reports come in to our control room in Pernis, our headquarters," says Niels Moerkerken, director of Ecoloss. EcoLoss is an independent consultancy and service provider. In addition to consulting, its employees specialize in the handling and settlement of incidents, especially those involving incidents with environmental impact (soil). Examples include oil spills on roads, dumped asbestos and drug waste, and liquid leaks in construction pits. As soon as there are incidents involving hazardous materials or possible soil and road surface contamination, Ecoloss comes into action. Both on land and on water. Commissioned by Rijkswaterstaat, Ecoloss works for various infrastructure projects at Schiphol Airport, provincial roads and the Afsluitdijk, among others. "When a report comes in for the Afsluitdijk, our team at the control room decides whether our incident staff should go into action or those of a cooperating partner. In any case, we coordinate the actions and have contact with customers and manage the extrication protocols."

Quickly on site

Environmental incidents can also occur during work on the Afsluitdijk. "Think, for example, of and hydraulic hose from a machine that bursts and has started leaking in a construction pit. We ensure that we are quickly on site and clean up everything according to the correct regulations, so that the work can be continued safely and as quickly as possible."