Sources from the Telegraph have today confirmed the outcome of the Buncefield explosion on December 11th 2005, labelled as the biggest European peacetime explosion. For those of you that are not familiar with this event – an explosion was caused after petrol vapour leaked from a tanker in the early hours of a Sunday morning back in 2005; an explosion that remarkably measured 2.4 on the Richter scale, and was heard over 125 miles away.
The five companies involved have each received fines equating to more than £9million; a figure that has been condemned by local MP’s and campaigners as too lenient given the scale of the disaster. The judge in the case at St Albans Crown Court, Judge Sir David Calvert-Smith, has stated ”Had the explosion happened during a working day, the loss of life may have been measured in tens or even hundreds”, according to the source. And it’s certainly a miracle – or perhaps sheer luck – that no one was seriously hurt given the scale of the explosion. In fact, the judge went on to say that the fact the incident occurred so early in the morning with no significant casualties “was little short of miraculous”. The environmental impact could reportedly remain for decades.
Local MP Mike Penning has called for a review of the level of fines, given the apparent lenience of their level. His concerns primarily lye with his constituents that are still waiting for compensation for their homes, businesses, lives and health that have been destroyed “by an industrial disaster which should never have happened and was obviously completely preventable”, according to the report. The article suggests that the damage done tops over £1bn worth – so his concerns over the level of fines is clearly understandable.
The source goes on to say that the court heard how windows were blown out, and doors blown off their hinges following the massive cloud of vapour from 250,000 litres of petroleum igniting. The effects have involved local firms being forced out of business and home owners’ property value crashing down, together with the major employment and education disruption caused and the array of physical, emotional, and psychological suffering sustained by the local community.
Several breaches have been quoted from the source:
TAV Engineering Ltd and Motherwell Control Systems 2003 Ltd – found guilty by failing to protect employees and members of the public – breaching the Health and Safety at Work Act.
Hertfordshire Oil Storage Limited – found guilty of “failing to prevent major accidents and limit their effects”, as well as causing pollution to local water – a direct breach of the Water Resources Act.
Total UK – also pleading guilty to breaching the Health and Safety at Work Act and the Water Resources Act.
British Pipeline Ltd – pleading guilty to the same charges as Hertfordshire Oil Storage Limited.
These breaches were all completely preventable, and this incident should never have occurred. It doesn’t take the source to understand that the fact no one was seriously hurt or killed is a result of sheer luck. Had the incident occurred during working hours, we would have been reporting a serious tragedy with possibly hundreds of lives lost – and it wouldn’t have just been fines for breaches the companies would have been facing; not to mention the further impact this would have had on the community.
Companies that are responsible for potentially dangerous substances have such important and clear regulations to abide by. Failing to adhere to such regulations can potentially lead to such disasters – and this is living proof of just how serious they can be. Although nobody lost their life, the impact on the community and the environment is difficult to put in to words.
