Thurrock News
Major safety concerns at Coryton oil refinery
10:02am Friday 13th May 2011
SERIOUS safety concerns have emerged at Coryton oil refinery.
The Gazette can reveal 20 incidents have happened at the site over the past four years – with at least two leaving staff with serious burns.
Petroplus, which paid £75million to BP for the refinery in June 2007, has also failed to comply with a legal order to fit new equipment to reduce risks of fire and an explosion at part of the sprawling site.
New specialist pressure valves should have been fitted by last March.
The Health and Safety Executive has not ruled out prosecuting refinery bosses for failing to comply and action could result in a fine of up to £20,000, or even jail.
Most of the 20 incidents followed an extensive health and safety investigation carried out after a huge fire on October 31, 2007. It took 17 fire crews nearly four hours to tame the blaze.
The refinery is classed as a Control of Major Accident Hazards top-level site, due to the severity of impact should an explosion occur.
Officials are also currently reviewing the safety of the refinery’s alkylation unit, containing highly corrosive hydrofluoric acid, before reporting back to the company on its condition and if work is needed.
Councillor Ray Howard can see the refinery, which is alongside the Thames Estuary, from his home on Canvey.
He said: “Transparency is paramount when it comes to top- level COMAH sites and if they are not complying with the regulations, they must be prosecuted like anyone else.
“As the crow flies, people in west Canvey are closer to the refinery than anyone in Thurrock.”
After failing to fit new valves last March, Petroplus was given an extension until July, but still failed to deliver.
A Health and Safety Executive spokeswoman said: “We continue to investigate a potential non-compliance with an improvement notice issued to Petroplus on July 27, 2007.”
The improvement notice, served after nine safety law breaches were found, said the design of the equipment did not reduce “as low as reasonably practicable the risk of fire and explosion”.
There were three breaches of Dangerous Substances and Explosive Atmospheres Regulations and two of the Control of Major Accident Hazards Regulations.
The refinery manager has defended Petroplus’s safety record, yet admitted staff risked coming into contact with chemicals until the work is complete.
Jon Barden accepted new equipment to reduce the risk of fire or explosion at part of the site will not be up and running until the end of 2012.
He said new valves were still being designed – nearly four years after the improvement notice was served.
He accepted staff could be at risk of exposure to hydrocarbons, which can pose a health risk.
Despite this, he reassured the wider community he does not believe there is any immediate threat – and it would only affect a small part of the refinery if problems occurred.
Mr Barden said the problem safety chiefs want addressed is part of drainage system, which is up to 40 years old.
He said: “No one has had bad experiences there, but we want to reduce the risk. We continually carry out risk reduction.”
He also said if there had been a more serious risk the HSE would have served a different type of notice demanding the immediate closure of the plant.
He said: “The piece of equipment was of appropriate design when designed, but now does not meet current standards.”
Mr Barden said it can take three years to design and build new equipment before having to train people to use it. Asked why it was still being designed nearly four years after the improvement notice, he said there had been “a lot of dialogue” with the HSE first.
Asked about the 20 incidents, he would not comment, saying only: “It is not productive to us, or you.”
He would not go into the number of major incidents since Petroplus took over, later confirmed by the HSE, but said: “We take the incidents you have raised very seriously and there is a very serious response.”
He added: “Health and safety is a continually evolving subject. Society’s expectations change and what was acceptable 50 years ago might not be today.”