The Environment Agency and the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) have now been formally asked to investigate December's incident at the Buncefield oil depot in Hemel Hempstead, and to report back to the Health and Safety Commission (HSC) as soon as possible. It is hoped that together they will make a thorough examination of the incident, the factors leading up to it, its impact on and off the site and essentially what caused it. Any immediate action to ensure safety and environmental protection regarding the storage and distribution of hydrocarbon fuels will be identified, and the role of the Agency and the HSE in regulating activities on the site under the COMAH Regulations SI 1999/743, which were created to prevent and mitigate exactly this type of incident, will be under close scrutiny.
The initial report for the HSC must also include recommendations for future action to control major accident risks. It will then be made public.
A series of explosions occurred early on Sunday 6 December, creating a large plume of smoke. It took more than 650 fire-fighters from 16 brigades over 59 hours to fully extinguish, when 20 huge oil and fuel storage tanks ignited. Local people and businesses were evacuated and an exclusion zone imposed around the site. Extensive damage occurred to premises located in a nearby business park and some 43 people were injured, fortunately only two were serious. The full cost of the incident still needs to be calculated, but it is estimated the combusted fuel alone may amount to more than £100 million.
