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Industrialsafetytalk: Health and Safety Legislation
News Release from: HSE Health and Safety Executive
Edited by the Engineeringtalk Editorial
Team on 05 July 2006
HSE Issues Further Safety Alert to Fuel
Depots
A Safety Alert has been issued to operators of COMAH fuel storage facilities and others storing hazardous substances in large tanks.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has issued a Safety Alert to operators of COMAH fuel storage facilities and others storing hazardous substances in large tanks Details of the Safety Alert can be found on the HSE website at: www.hse.gov.uk/comah/alerts/sa0106.htm The Safety Alert comes as a result of new information received from the on-going investigation that is being overseen by the Buncefield Major Incident Investigation Board chaired by Lord Newton
This article was originally published on Engineeringtalk on 1 Jul 2004 at 8.00am (UK)
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Scrutiny of the workings of the high-level safety system has indicated that certain aspects of its installation and testing are critical in ensuring it operates correctly.
HSE has requested that operators of similar facilities carry out immediate checks where TAV level switches manufactured and supplied by Cynergy3 Components Limited or their predecessor companies are fitted to their storage tanks and carry out the actions detailed in the Safety Alert.
HSE has also served improvement notices on the company.
This requires them to alert operators using this system of the steps outlined in the Safety Alert.
Kevin Allars, head of HSE's Chemical Industries Division, said: "The Safety Alert is primarily for the attention of those companies operating oil/fuel storage facilities.
However, it may also be relevant to other sites storing hazardous substances in large tanks where gauges are used.
"The relevance of the installation and performance of these switches in respect of the Buncefield incident is only one of a number of lines of enquiry.
It is therefore inappropriate to comment on its relevance in the particular circumstances of Buncefield.
It is also too early to say when the Buncefield investigation will conclude, or what it might say regarding these switches.
However, when the fire and explosion at Buncefield first happened HSE stated that if information that affected the safe operation of similar sites came to light from the independently-led investigation it would take immediate action to draw industry's attention to it.
That is being done today, and that is what HSE will continue to do as any further intelligence arises from that investigation.".
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