Through the pipeline

by OTTO

WHO'S TO DELIVER? In _the ~ftermath of the fire and explosion which occurred at Bnst~I m 1951_ there existed an air of recrimination and accusation. Varymg suggestions were made by the parties concerned ~s. to wh~ was primarily responsible for the overfilling and spill~ng which triggered the disaster. Perhaps the only worthwhile outcome of the various disagreements was No. 16 of the Petroleum Spirit (Conveyance by Road) Regulations 1957. 1:he purpose of this Regulation was not only to lay down d~l.1very procedures but to establish clear areas of responsibihty_ for the tank _wagon driver, the licensee and the person appomted by the licensee to attend on the delivery. It was a brave try!

Disagree~ents always tend to arise where one party cannot proceed untII another has done his duty. The frustrated party is for ever tempted to go ahead willy-nilly. Thus Regulation 16 has no~ been as ~omplete a success as many hoped it "':ould be m preventing overfilling and spilling during the disch~r~e of petrol from tank wagons into storage tanks. Surpns1_ngly, the Regulation now seems designed for a much ?1ore ~e1s:ireiy age than one in which the word "productivity" 1s havmg its vogue.

The productivity of tank wagon drivers cannot be significantly enhanced by quicker turn round of tank wagons at depot and forecourt. The real hope of improvement lies in reducing journey time between the two. This can be achieved only by the avoidance of areas and hours of congestion.

A number of depots have been re-sited in an effort to reduce tank wagon travel through areas of congestion to a minimum. The remaining line of attack is on hours of congestion and what neater stratagem is there than the use of night-time for deliveries?

The Home Office Model Code already countenances nighttime deliveries of petrol but Regulation 16 remains as a stumbling block. With most filling stations closed at night where are the persons appointed by licensees to attend on deliveries-if not tucked up in bed like most sensible diurnal animals? Small wonder therefore that the major oil companies are pressing for amendment of Regulation 16 !

What the companies have in mind is a recasting of the Regulation so as to make the tank wagon driver wholly responsible for the actual delivery of petrol. The licensee will be responsible as at present for providing what may loosely be called the "tools for the job" on the filling station itself.

Many who suspect the wisdom of the divided responsibility inherent in the present system will welcome the proposed change. Not least among the arguments in favour will be the suspicion that tank wagon drivers are far more competent in handling petrol than the inexperienced attendants who grace some filling stations. HOW DID IT ALL BEGIN? We are told that the sum of human knowledge is doubling every seven years. Considered in this light the development of the petroleum industry has taken aeons.

Perhaps it all started in 1850 when Dr. Young took out his patent for obtaining paraffin (or oil containing paraffin) from the slow combustion of bituminous coal. The company he formed, Young's Paraffin Company, started the Scottish oil industry. With the finding of oil in the North Sea this industry now appears due for rebirth.

In 1865 the first successful pipeline was constructed in America. In that year the total amount of petroleum products exported by the U.S.A. was approximately 25 million gallons, of which more than half was for illumination purposes.

Seven years later, in 1872, the Brayton Engine was patented in the U.S.A. The moving spirit of that engine was kerosine. It was not until the following year that Hock patented his gasoline engine in Vienna.

The carburettor so essential to modern engines had already been invented but its use had been limited to the enrichment of town gas with "0.680 spirit" to improve the lighting properties of the gas. Strangely enough the refiner associated with the development of the carburettor also introduced the word "petrol" into the English language. The word was used as a trade name for the "Launch" (or motor) spirit of Carless, Capel and Leonard Ltd. The company still occupies its original premises in the East End of London.

Traditionally 1859 is named as the year when petroleum oil was first introduced into Britain for illumination purposes. 1862 saw the passing of the first Petroleum Act and one of the purposes of the Act was to protect the public from t~e "deadly" low-flash oils which were occasionally sold for use m lamps. Many deaths had been attributed to thi_s cause and there had (not surprisingly) been a great outcry m the Press.

A Petroleum Conference held at Baku in 1886 supported the view that low flash oils were "deadly" and opined that Russian kerosine of specific gravity 0.830 should be distinguished as follows: Safe oil Flash point not less than 77 °F. Unsafe oil Flash point below 77 °F.

The low flash content of petroleum was largely a waste product in the nineteenth century. Nor did the loss to the dealer end here. Removal of the low flash fraction at the lighter end meant that some of the heavier fractions also had to be removed in order to get a kerosine which would burn satisfactorily. The heavy fractions were as difficult to sell as the light fractions.

Thus rose a great temptation to flout the law. Perhaps flouters of the law were consoled by the views of such wellknown authorities as Sir Frederick Abel and Sir Boverton Redwood, who as late as 1890 (in a report to H.M. Chief Inspector of Explosives) doubted whether lamp explosions