BP's new cap fits but it's time for a change in management
BP has reached a milestone in its handling of the Macondo crisis with the successful fitting of a second capping device, which has sealed the stricken well in the Mexican Gulf after the first attempt merely stemmed the flow of oil. The company has also released a set of figures for the financial quarter to June, the three months' period that the well has been leaking, showing massive losses of $17billion. This record loss for a British company is the result of setting aside $32.2 billion to cover the costs linked to the Gulf of Mexico spill. The figure includes the $20 billion already set aside in an escrow account for compensation claims and the company has suggested that the total figure could rise further. The company will...

Taking advantage of the new Machine Safety Directive
The EU Machinery Directive may be seen by some as a nuisance but in fact it introduces opportunities for improving both safety and productivity....

Insuring health and safety?
The British Safety Industry Federation (BSIF) is encouraging insurers to work closely with safety stakeholders to minimise the adverse impacts on health and safety sometimes created by the ways in which insurance companies operate....

The safety of nuclear power
In Europe concerns continue to grow regarding the dangers of an excessive reliance on Russian gas supplies. Is nuclear power is the answer?

Turnkey automation project provided at sugar mill
Famous across the world for its traditional aguardente (a strong alcoholic beverage obtained from sugarcane) the Ypióca group is investing in a new market: ethanol. The company has just inaugurated the Jaguaruana mill in the state of Ceará. Brazil. This has the capacity to produce between 40 and 60 million litres/year of ethanol, around 90 million litres/year of cachaça (another name for aguardente), as well as the capability to produce neutral alcohol.

CSA Hazardous Location certifications on signal conditioners and alarms
Moore Industries has certified two product lines through CSA International, receiving cCSAus Hazardous Location certificates for miniMoore Multi-Channel Signal Conditioners and FS Functional Safety Series STA Safety Trip Alarms.

Buncefield fines are too lenient
The fines handed out by the Crown Court to the five companies found guilty of having a hand in the 2005 explosion at the Buncefield Oil Storage Depot, in Hertfordshire have been described as an insult by local residents who fell victim to the disaster. The Buncefield blast shattered the local community and left a long-term legacy of pollution. The Health and Safety Executive has estimated the cost of dealing with the disaster at more than £1 billion.