A petrochemical company failed to implement vital safety changes following an oil spill at its refinery in Scotland, which would have prevented a second spill a year later.
Both incidents took place at INEOS Manufacturing Scotland Ltd’s facility at Grangemouth, Falkirk. The company had a policy of manually draining pipes containing crude oil, in order to reduce the pressure on the pipes and to try and prevent the oil from thermally expanding.
In May 2007, more than 100 litres of crude oil were released on to the floor of a pumphouse at the site because a section of the pipeline had not been depressurised. The HSE advised the company to install a hydrostatic release valve, which would divert some of the oil to a storage container once it reached a certain pressure.
However, INEOS failed to act on this suggestion, and it continued to be common practice to allow pressure to build up in the pipes until a warning alarm sounded in the control room when the pressure reached 19 bar. The controller would then instruct a field operative to drain oil from the pipeline to release the pressure.
On 7 May 2008, following a shift change in the control room, staff became confused by the method of work. When the pressure alarm sounded, the controller was unaware that the method of work required him to arrange for the pressure to be released manually. Four hours after the alarm sounded a gasket on the pipeline ruptured and oil began spraying across a nearby pumphouse and adjacent pipelines containing other dangerous substances. Nobody was injured during the leak but it posed a serious risk of causing a fire, or explosion.
During its subsequent investigation, the HSE discovered that the crude oil that had been manually drained from the pump was being stored in an open metal skip, which was not designed for the safe storage of an extremely flammable substance and had no means of stopping the oil from overflowing.
HSE inspector Brian Kennedy said: “The crude oil involved in this incident was extremely flammable and had the potential to result in serious injury, had there been a fire, or explosion.
“Despite having recognised the need for engineered thermal relief on their crude-oil pipelines, following an incident at their refinery a year earlier, INEOS chose instead to rely on a manual system for managing thermal expansion. This system of work actually increased the risk of fire and explosion and ultimately failed to prevent the pipeline from becoming over-pressurised.
“The risk of over-pressurising pipelines and storage vessels, as a result of thermal expansion, are well-understood, as are the required control measures.”
INEOS Manufacturing Scotland Ltd appeared at Falkirk Sheriff Court on 5 July and pleaded guilty to breaching s2(1) of the HSWA 1974 and was fined £100,000.
In mitigation, it said it quickly cleared the spill and has subsequently installed a hydrostatic release valve on the pipeline. It has also acquired specifically-designed storage containers, which remove the danger of the oil being stored in a potentially flammable atmosphere.
Following the hearing, an INEOS spokesman said: “A small quantity of crude oil leaked from a pipeline that supplies one of the refinery’s distillation units. At the time of the incident the line was not in use, pending restart of a distillation unit within the Grangemouth refinery.
“The leak was quickly identified and isolated, with temporary barriers put in place to contain the small amount of oil. This ensured that the leak was quickly cleaned up, minimising any risk to the local environment and to anyone working nearby.
“INEOS takes its responsibility for the environment very seriously and is fully committed to delivering a record of responsible environmental performance across all its operations.”
In October 2009, SHP reported that INEOS Manufacturing Scotland Ltd was fined £1500 after a contractor suffered serious burns when he struck an underground power while operating a jackhammer at the Grangemouth facility. The firm pleaded guilty to breaching reg. 4(3) of the Electricity at Work Regulations 1989, for failing to adequately plan electrical work.
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