Article archive for The Editor, HazardEx;
There’s been much talk lately about information meltdown. The amount of data generated globally is growing at least exponentially and the Internet is rapidly getting to a stage where it will literally be full with all available bandwidth used up. The information superhighway will simply stop. The IT world will be in global gridlock....
The horrific explosion and fire at Imperial Sugar’s refinery in a suburb of Savannah in the state of Georgia is a timely reminder of the dangers of dust and the destructive power of a dust cloud explosion.This incident killed 12 workers and injured many others as well as devastating the plant which will be out of action for some time, having a dramatic financial impact on the inhabitants of the small town of Port Wentworth. ...
The new Corporate Manslaughter Bill will make it easier to prosecute a company over a breach of health and safety regulations, comes into effect. Under the new offence, companies and organisations can be found liable for a work-related death if actions at a senior level amount to gross breach of a duty of care to the deceased. The legislation removes the need to find an individual responsible, making it easier to convict a business....
The cost of fire and explosion with the resulting loss of life, serious injury and damage to equipment and premises is inevitably massive. Add to this the human cost of losing a colleague or loved-one and the permanent damage to the environment and the real costs escalate beyond belief. Compared to the costs of these damages, the investment required to guarantee an effective safety culture is manageable. So how wrong did BP get it at the Texas City? ...
The Health and Safety Executive has been doing what it does best, checking hazardous installations and offering advice and recommendations to improve safety. The executive has been investigating oil companies operating in the North Sea and warned that many could have their facilities shut or face prosecution unless they improved safety standards. ...
The Buncefield inquiry continues, as does the HSE’s investigation into the Terra Nitrogen explosion at Billingham. The first report on the Buncefield disaster puts the blame on an automatic level control system and a failed level switch and therefore puts into question the use of automatic controls and automatic systems. The first report also notes that CCTV footage of petrol vapour rolling around the Hertforshire site was ignored by operators....