As usual, the NCEC emergency response team will work throughout this year’s festive period to provide a 24/7 chemical emergency response from our operations base in Oxfordshire.

Whether you are roasting a turkey or a cauliflower on Christmas Day and off to a glitzy party or cuddling up on the sofa at home this New Year’s Eve, the team in Oxfordshire will be all systems go, answering the phones for our customers.

2022 has brought numerous challenges but our emergency response team has continued to work as normal and will continue doing so on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day. They will be on hand to provide actionable advice directly to our callers – including the emergency services and those transporting and working with chemical products across the world – to mitigate the impact of an incident.

Are you wondering what type of calls the NCEC emergency responders (ERs) might be dealing with at this time of year?

Incidents involving consumers and industrial and professional-use chemicals occur all year round and NCEC ERs are experts at providing advice to mitigate their impact. Our mission is to minimise harm to people and the environment, as well as to our customers’ assets and reputation.

Last year, during the festive period our team supported the emergency services to extinguish a large fire at a scrap yard. There were specific concerns about a smoke plume and run-off from the extinguishing agent. Our ER provided insight as to the chemical content based on the materials involved in the fire and the potential effects of any release to the local area.

Elsewhere, a haulier transporting a product across North America required support on a slow leak from a 200-gallon container being carried on the trailer. Our ER ensured the caller was aware of the hazards of the diacrylate substance and could stabilise the leak, before connecting them to an organisation to support them with the at-the-scene removal of the damaged container.

The last thing you want to hear on your final shift before the New Year’s Eve party is that you need to take a trip to A&E, but unfortunately that’s what our responder had to tell one supermarket employee, who had splashed some concentrated cleaning chemicals into their eye whilst diluting them for use. The product was seriously damaging to eyes, so quick first aid advice followed by intervention from a medical professional, was imperative.

Finally, it’s not just emergencies we deal with over the festive period. Conscientious chemical suppliers understandably want to check that the NCEC are operational all year round. As such, our responders talk to several of our clients who are performing connection tests. It’s always a pleasure to speak to our customers and hear the value that they place on the service our responders provide over this period, and even better when they wish us a Merry Christmas!

We are proud of the service our trained chemists provide to those who find themselves in need of chemical emergency advice, especially during this time of the year.

We also want to thank all front-line emergency responders who give up their family time to help protect the people and places we care about most.

Whilst we will always be here to respond to any chemical emergency, naturally we wish you, and everyone everywhere, a safe and incident-free festive holiday!