The operators of Grangemouth refinery have been fined £100,000 after an uncontrolled release of crude oil from a pipeline at the site on the Firth of Forth in May 2008.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE), which was helped by the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA) during the investigation, said a pipeline containing crude oil became over-pressurised as a result of a process known as thermal expansion. The pipeline therefore failed causing extremely flammable crude oil to spray out across a nearby pumphouse and adjacent pipelines containing other dangerous substances. Investigators found that operators Ineos were aware of the risks from thermal expansion but chose to rely on staff to manually drain crude oil from the pipeline instead of installing engineering controls.
Falkirk Sheriff Court heard that crude oil drained from a pipeline was stored in a metal skip, not designed for the safe storage of an extremely flammable substance, so the risk of fire and explosion was increased.
After the hearing, 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."
Ineos co-operated fully with the investigation and have issued a number of recommendations to prevent a similar incident re-occuring in the future.
