The Bulletin – July 1973

Quarterly Journal of The Association for Petroleum Acts Administration

R. S. ·L. ANDERSON C. ANSBRO

THE ASSOCIATION FOR PETROLEUM ACTS ADMINISTRATION

Chairman: J. W. HEWISON

Vice-Chairman: J. BEER

Immediate Past Chairman: R. P. HOLDAWAY

Council:

Ayr C. 67093 Darlington C.B. 3446/6162

W. HETHERINGTON B. HODGSON

Witney U.D.C. 3241

Wigton RD.C. 2133/5 Stafford B. 3507 E. V BEEBY Rugby R.D.C. 2071 J. BENNETI G. BERESFORD J. BIRKS

K. C. HUGHES T.KERR K. MacLEOD H. R. MELLOR C.R PESKETT R E. J. RODEN

Glanford Brigg RD.C. Brigg 2441/5 Dumbarton 2351 Blackpool C.B. 23848 D. HALL Godalming B. 6191/4 S. W. D. HARRIS G. H. HARVEY

Hon Legal Adviser: p D W ADSWORTH.

Morley B. 5541 Hastings B. 4182

Chesterfield B. 2825 Newcastle-under-Lyme B. 0782 610161 Gloucester R.D.C. 26223 Dudley C.B. 55433 Birmingham City 021 235 3089

Officers:

Hon. Secretary: J. W. FRID

Hon. Treasurer: C.T.PEACOCK

Hon. Editor: B. W. THACKER

Subscription: £1.50

Opinions expressed in this Journal are not necessarily the views of the Association

Petroleum 44

Branch Reports 48

Annual General Meeting 53 Hazardous Chemicals 55

Talking Point

Last year and earlier this year we drew attention to the possible increase in incidents involving hazardous loads carried by road. It is pleasing to be able to report that there now appears to be more evident action in this field.

More substances of a dangerous nature are being brought under 'Conveyance Regulations, and various groups and bodies concerned with conveyance are meeting, discussing the problem and making worthwhile suggestions. Such a meeting with its recommendations, is reported in this issue.

Editor: B. W. C. Thacker

notes and news

NEW MEMBERS

L. C. H. Bran-ston, Esq., A. G. Butcher, 'Esq., Dresser Europe S A.,

R. W. Day, Esq., '

T. J. K. Dixon, Esq., J. W. Gowler, Esq.,

'F:' M; Hughes, Esq., J. A. Rawlings, Esq.,

J. M. Warren, Esq ,

APPOINTMENT

L.

RETIREMENTS

E Calvert, Chief Fire Officer, Brighton.

R. Coysh, Chief Publk Heallth 'Inspector, Bognor Regis, after 32 years the Council.

J. A. Sha'l'p, Midland Electrioity Board . Mr. Sharp, }lonorary Membe;r, has been the Honorary Electl1ioal Adviser to the Association since i,ts inception :in 1958 'and we 'are deeply grateful to him for his many services and contributions to the A'Ssoci:a'tion over ,this long period of time We wish these gentlemen a long and happy retirement.

HONORARY FREEDOM

'J1he Honorary Freedom of the County Borough of Dudley has been conferred upon Mr 'P. Wiadsworth, Town Clerk of Dudley M;r. Wadsworth 'is the Honol'ary 'Legal AdV'iser ,to this Assooifttion.

IThe Institute of Petroleum

The Ins,titute of Petroleum is a meeting place for anyone concerned with 'petroleum whether .they 'are employed in the industry or elsewhere. The Institute arranges meetings on a wide variety of ,subjects, is ,the forum through which a great de'al of technical work is carried out, and has eleven BranChes in ,the U K. and six overseas.

Privileges of membership include receipt of the Institute's magazines without charge, purchase ,of the InstItute's book at a discount of 25%, reduced fees for attendance at meetings, 'and t he use of the Ins'Vitute's library 'and reading room

Several petroleum 'officers of local councils have 'already become members of the Institute, and applications f.rom anyone else who is :interested are welcome Annuat subs· criptions vary from £5 to £9 according ,to 'age, and ,there is an entrance fee of £2.50 or £5 00.

Unusual Accidents

A steam main Tuns alongside 'a factory fence. Some , years ago a s 'team trap on the main discharged on to the ground and the condensa'te ran .through the fence and formed a pool next to a public footpath. The plant engineer was, theref.ore, asked to divert 'the condensate toa safe pI-ace; he diverted it into the nearest manhole.

A man working nearby complained that when he went to the toilet he got scalded!

A fa'irground engineer escaped wIth minor back 'and leg injuries after being fired from a fa-irground cannon. He was halfway down !the barrel of a 16f.t. cannon adjus<ting the mechanism when it accidentally went off !

FILMING ON FORECOURTS

Your members may be interested to know thwt a commercial film unit has recently used 'a filli ng sta'Hon forecourt in Birmingham 'in 'order to produce an ,advertising film for a major oil company and I am told similar opera,tions have been mounted on a number of occas-ions in various areas outside Rirmingham. The filming operation can be on quilte a scale and involve t he presence of non flame pr oof elect rIcal equipment within 'a division 1 area It ,also tends

McHugh, DepU!ty 'Chief Inspector of Weights i and Measures, Southport, has been promoted Chief Inspector.

to attract the attention of passersby and both they and the rUm unit personnel are likely to smoke. No prior notification was given to my authority and it was only by chance ,that the 'operation was seen late one 'afternoon. Filming at that time was almost finished and 'in order to 'allow them to complete ,their programme some restrictions were ,placed on the use of the forecourt and reasonable protection given to possible source-s of ,ignition. The filling station (which was owned by the oil company) had been in partial customer use during the day and I cons'ider the owner f'Ortunate, helped perhaps by inclement weather and poor trade, te have had no accident.

The oil company has been approached and their represent· ative has given an ,assurance that they will notify my authority well in advance of any future proposals of this nature but of course advertisement .js not the prerogative of only one company and neither is Birmingham the only area likely to be ,affected.

This type of commercial filming must have been carried out for many years throughout the country and I would be interested ,to hear whether other licensing 'authorities have had to deal with similar occurances and what aotion was taken to ensure that there was no breach of licensing conditions and that good safety standards were mainta'ined. Building Surveyors, Birmingham. D. J. PANE.

HIGHLY FLAMMABLE LIQUIDS

The publication in April's 'Bulletin' of the fifty gallon 'Mixtures' cabinet raises ,the question. 'should petroleum officers be reconsidering the types of stores permitted after

considering the implications of Statutory Instrument 1972, No. 917, Factories. The Highly Flammable Liquids and Liquefied Petroleum Gases Regulations 1972'?

Whilst this order is enforced by H.M. Factory Inspectorate, and applies only to F'actories and exempts its application to liquids and gases, to which the Petroleum Order 1929 and the Petroleum (Liquid Methane) Order 1957 apply, and authorised to be kept by a licence under the 1928 Act, it is now possible to have differing standards of stomge in a Factory Workshop and Storeroom.

1. By the Factory Inspeotor. In a suHably placed cupboard or bin, being cupboard or bin which is a fire resisting structure, a quantity not exceeding fifty litres. This bin in the only structure in sheet metal acceptable.

2. By the Petroleum Officer. A similar quanmty of petroleum mixtures in a bin or up to fifty ,gallons in a cabinet of similar design ,to that of the Hon. Sec. The fifty gallon cabinet in sheet metal would not be acceptable to the Faotory Inspectorate, but is no doubt licensed for the storage 'Of Petroleum Mixtures in Repair Garages.

Storerooms are required to have a roof of light construction, in contrast to the Association's 2' reinforced concrete (stores over fifty gall'Ons).

I accept <that it may be prefemble to have highly flamm· able liquids and petroleum mixtures kept in an open fronted steel cabinet, .jnstead of on shelves in a shop, but an agreed standard applied to Factory Workshop and Departmental Store, or Oar Accessory 'Factors, is desirable and essenTial. Chief Fire Officer, BoIton, G. A. HODGKINSON

1066 AND ALL THAT!

A Report on the Annual Conference from E. G. Sandys, Esq., Exeter

The two day Annual General Meeting and Conference of the Association for Petroleum Acts Administration assembled at Hastings on Tuesday, 3rd April, 1973. A brief scrutiny of the excellent programme suggested that thoughts of reorganisation were not far away, and it was to be hoped that such a historical battlefield would not be the scene of any internal strife between the represented factions!

The preliminaries of arrival day were conspicuous for a fast check on fire escape routes at <the hotel, nearest bar, and where was the Conference Hall, not necessarily in that order.

When battle commenced on Wednesday morning we were particularly pleased to receive such a warm welcome from the Worshipful Mayor of Hastings, Alderman T. Meal'S. His first salvo was directed at <the Secretary for not having visited Hastings before, but it was all in the best spirit and heralded first class civic hospitality throughout our st'ay.

Af,ter settling down to the paper by Dr. G. H. Beeby on the implications of the Robens Report, first encounters showed some differences of opinion between 'those who seek to advise and those who enforce.

After lunch we were entertained to one of the main events of the conference.

Perhaps by now, local authority officers have become so familiar with the 'Bains Report' that our swords were lowered, however the Champion of Bains in the form of John Bolton soon awakened us to a critical look at w?at Bains management was about and aliter an enthralling contest between John 'Harold' Bolton on one hand .and a number of Looal Authority delegates on the 'l't strange to see the officers in the role of ,almost mno ceh bystanders, On this occasion 'Harold' expertly dodged t e arrows but it is rumoured that the near misses may have cost a fortune at the bar I'ater.

Th C ·· h Corporation of e IVIC Reception provided by t e . 'd d Hastings for members and their ladies was excellent m ee

Th rshed conjurer e entertainment was heightened by a po I • d by who entertained us with an excellent act ably a number of willing victims. How else could r d have goldfish in his pint? and a Scotsman so easIly re of a fiver? It was suggested that the entertainer was on y living up to the 'standards of showmanship so ably svrated by the Treasurer at the preceding Annual Genem Meeting. We had an excellent evening and no one was more

surprised than 'Our new Chairman 'Jim' Hewison to find that the Mayor had him in the Club! The 1066 Club to be precise, and gave him an excellent tie to prove it.

We were 'reminded once more to make sQre we came ba<;k to Hastings and Secretary should note that the weather <;ould be better later in the year than .eaTly April.

On Thursday, last but by no means least we were pleased to hear from Dr. G. J. Jeacocke on Adminis'tmtion and Europe. It was interesting to speculate just what the 'Bains' commi.ttee could do if they re-organised the Civil Service. Perhaps we might in due course get 'a uniform labelling system?

As usual 'Jim'came prepared to answer (even if not in w.riting) all our questions and a veritable barrage of .arrows they were!

At the end I suppose honours were even, and the different factions grounded thek spears and lis,tened with interest to the Home Office Statement on the future of Petroleum Adminis'tration. This perhaps was the best finale.

Personally I found throughout the conference a ready acknowledgement of 'the expertise the members of the Association both have and 'sha,re, from whatever discipline they origina1te. For us the most important aspect is a job 'well done' and it is to be hoped that this will be the objective no matter what changes re-organisation bring, and to this end the Association exis,ts and we all hope will continue to exist.

It was the r,ight note on which to leave the battlefield; nobody actually fought and it was one of the best ·confe rences we have had.

Our thanks to the officers of the Association, Hastings Corporation, and Gordon Beresford and staff for making it a memor-able occasion,

PETROLEUM- BRANCH ' RE-ORGANISATION

By W. C. R.. Dale, Esq., Greater London Council

Introduction

I have seen t he ma.ny ,fi,ne a,rguments as t o wllich department of 'the upper t ier 'authority should be made responsible after 1st April, 1974 for administration of t he Petroleum Acts ana comparable legisl'ation. I have 'also heard t he vain impass-

ioned plea -for the work to be done on an agency basis by the lower ,bier authority. Let me 'say therefore at the outset ,that I have no intention of entering either of these two pl;lrticu-la'r It is said that one should never interfere in a fight between a man and his wife and I place the questien 'as to who 'is most competent to deal with administration of the Petroleum -Acts 'in much the ,same category.

Congratulations to the Chairman from his predecessor.

The Conference Organiser, John Frid, in thoughtful mood.

i

You may question how I can help you solve your problems on petroleum branch re-organisation when I do not know what they are. The answer is that I cannot. All that I can do is to tell you how we in the Greater London Council faced up to a similar re-organisation in 1965, the difficulties which we encountered and the solutions which we produced. The most that I can hope for is that our experience may in some way help you with the problems which you now have to solve.

The Problem in London

Greater London covers approximately 700 square miles and in 1964 housed more than one-seventh of the population of the U.K. So far 'as Petroleum Act work was concerned the new Greater London Council was required to take over the responsibility borne previously by 60 local authorities. These 'authorities varied in size from small urban district Councils to the London County Council. Each had its own principles of construction and licence conditions and appointed varying disciplines to undertake the work with widely varying efficiency. One authority because of shortage of staff had in fact given up the ghost altogether and had not bothered with issuing petroleum licences for some two years; the District Auditor, however, put a stop to this gambit.

The one great advantage in the London re-organisation lay in the fact that the London County Council had an existing specialist branch comprising 'inspectors and administrators who were already dealing with petroleum work in two-fifths of the proposed Greater London area. It was immediately apparent that the Petroleum Branch of the Greater London Council would have to grow out of the Petroleum Branch of the London County Council. It was sensible that the L.C.C. Petroleum Branch should be made responsible for the pre-planning of the G.L.C. Petroleum Branch.

Pre-Planning

Serious pre-planning started as soon as the first Greater London Council was elected in April 1964, i.e. some twelve months before D-day on 1st April, 1965. The first thing to be done was to settle some broad lines of policy. It would be tedious if I tried to distinguish in this narrative between Council, Committee and officer decisions; you are all local government officers and will need no guidance on this score.

Scope of Enforcement

The first matter to be decided was the scope of work to be undertaken. Some of the were at that time concerning themselves o.nly WIth the petroleum store. The Greater London however, recognised that the 'or hazards eXIsted m the use of petroleum spirits and mal ft' d"l tures in manu ac urmg an SIml ar processes. It was efore decided that the Council's Hcences should cover , er as well as storage, that is, that licences should deal use th t f d" with all keeping up to' e momen 0 lsslpatlOn or removal from the premises.

Modus Operandi

It was laid down as policy that applicants forlicences should

be clearly 'informed by letter of the conditions which would be attached to their licences and of the works which they would have to complete satisfactorily before a licence was issued. In some cases works required involve a great deal of money and it is proper that an applicant should not only be in a position to know exactly what he is committed to doing before he proceeds but, if he thinks the authority is being unreasonable, to exercise his right of appeal to the Secretary of 'State at the earliest possible moment.

General Administration

This decision meant that the amount of paper work involved in petroleum licensing would not be inconsiderable. It followed that sensibly an administrative section should be formed to relieve technical field staff of detailed paper work. To make the maximum use of field staff time and save losses due to excessive travelling, it was decided that field staff should be allocated a particular district, should work from home and should report in writing daily to Head Office. Various report forms were devised to keep the amount of writing to a minimum and to ensure that only essential information was transmitted. Clerical processes can take up an awful lot of time unless they are kept under tight control. Overall policy control and direction was vested centrally with the administrative staff supported by executive and clerical officers. This enabled much of the routine process of determining requirements and granting and amending licences, etc., to be delegated to the Head of the Petrol'eum Branch.

Licence Conditions

By devising special types of licences to match various types processes and premises it was possible to ',tailor lIcences to fit those premises and processes with the, mmimum use of 'ad hoc' conditions. The more usual 'ad hoc' conditions were put on to punched tape so that they be to licences by feeding the tape into an typeWrIter. Some special licences were not to justify printing. Once again the. 'standard of these licences were taped to mahc reprodUction on blank licence sheets. SlffiI1arly 'approval' and other standard types of letters were tap.ed to reduce the mechanical side of letter writinp to a mmimum. By the Use of a 'Stop' code on the tape and other techniques Words and phrases could be inserted and paragraphs and conditions selected at will. The actual ing of licences and letters is done on stencilled sheets. It IS worth while adopting this system of drafting whether or translation to the finished article is by automatic typewrIter because of the time and effort it saves.

Validity of Licences

All necessary office procedures were scrutinised to reduce' clerical processes to an absolute minimum. If savings were to be made then preferably this had to be at the of office staff rather than field staff. This was ,a factor m determining that licences should be valid for three and that the chore of renewing licences 'should be sp:.: as evenly as possible over each month of each of the t f e years. The result of spreading the load is that only a e: hundred licences fall due for renewal each month out the three year period which is much better than trymg to cope with a few thousand all at the same time.

Specialised Plant and Equipment

In an attempt to ensure consistency and to speed general work processes it was decided that one division would deal centrally with all items of equipment such as and spraying equipment which would find general use the whole of Greater London. This section would deal directly with the manuf.acturers of the equipment and once they had cleared points with the makers would inform inspectors of the conditions under which such eqUlpment might be accepted for use at licensed premises as well as the special points to watch.

Districts

There were considerable advantages in allocating each inspector toa set district rather than letting him deal with jobs as they arose and, as I have already indicated, this was the course which was adopted. It was recognised, however, that many of the inspectors would be new to the job and that it would be necessary to arrange for them to be a:ided, advised and supervised by an experienced senior inspector. Thus districts were grouped into areas over each of which a senior inspector exercised ,a supervisory function. Each senior inspector was in addition given a small district of his own. Moreover he was made directly responsible for all the more complicated and difficult cases in his area, to the exclusion of the inspector in whose district !the premises lay. This ensured the best use of available expertise. Nevertheless, senior inspectors are encouraged to take district inspectors from time to !time ,to the complicated 'reserved' cases 'on their districts, partly as a training exercise and partly so that the district inspectors can oversee works at the premises if the senior -inspector is not available.

Tank Wagon Inspections

Distributing depots fall into the class of case reserved to senior inspectors. It is at these depots that tank wagons are for the most part garaged and based. It was therefore arranged that senior inspectors should be responsible for the annual detailed 'strip-down' inspections of tank wagons based and operating in Greater London. District inspectors however are required to carry out 'casual' examinations of any tank wagons which ,they meet in the course of their normal inspections. The prime purpose of these 'casual' examinations is to check on the wagon under operational conditions.

Assessing the Work-load

A first priority in pre-planning was to obtain some idea of the probable work load. This was necessary if a reasonable estimate of requirements for staff, office space, file shelving, etc. was to be obtained. All sixty authorities could have been asked to supply figures of their licensed cases but surprisingly at this distance there were political reasons why this could not be done 'immediately. Instead recourse was made to public libraries where the v-arious Council Minutes were assiduously read. Even so, full information could not be obtained and an estimate had to be made. It was predicted that there would be one petroleum licence per 900 head of population and in the result this proved to be surprisingly accurate assessment giving as it did a probable figure of 9,086 licences as against an 'actual figure

of 8,972 licences. In London :the Petroleum Branch has other Local Act duties so it was decided that the work-load for each district inspector should be 300 licenced premises and for senior inspectors 200 licensed premises. (This ideal was not exactly achieved because it was also convenient to avoid so far as possible splitting London Boroughs between two inspectors). It was thus apparent that the G.L.C. would require 26 district 'inspectors and 6 senior inspectors. (These numbers have since been slightly varied to 24 district inspeotors and 7 senior inspectors). There was no easy way of determining the ,administrative, executive -and clerical staff required to man the Branch's Head Office. The increase factor as between the L.C.C. area and Greater London was 2.6. However, it was proposed to introduce a number of labour saving procedures in the office. Initially, the number of office staff was determined by multiplying the L.C.C. staffing by a factor of two. Later, after the first impact of reorganisation had been absorbed it was found possible to further reduce this number. Nowadays there a're many techniques for measuring office work and staffing the office side of a Petroleum Branch should present few problems once the overall method of working has been decided.

Once one has determined the number of licence cases and office staff requirements it is a relatively simple arithmetical exercise to express this in terms of office accommodation and furniture needs.

Training

Before I finally leave the question of staffing the ne,w Petroleum Branch, I should mention that the G.L.C. was faced with a short-fall of 21 petroleum inspectors. It was decided to arrange a course of training starting from 1st January, 1965, i.e. three months before 'D' or Re-organisation Day. The course lasted 12 weeks and on the -academic side consisted of a series of lectures on specialised aspects of the work by senior staff of the L.C.C. and two full days and one evening attendance per week at a Technical College where the elements of Building Construction, Chemistry, Electrical Engineering, Hydraulics and Hydrostatics were disseminated. Each L.C.C. inspector took two trainees under his wing for up to three days per week to provide the essential practical experience of inspection. The trainees were selected from applicants employed in local government in Greater London as weights and measures inspectors, building inspectors, shops acts and explosive inspectors, public health inspectors and firemen.

Delegation

The Council decided to delegate the functions of granting, renewing and amending petroleum licences to officers. To set bounds on this delegation Standard Conditions and broad Principles of Construction for the different types of keeping and use were laid down. It was decreed that only major departures from the conditions and principles need be referred to the appropriate committee of the Council for decision.

Preparing the Paper Work

Once the standard conditions and principles of construction were approved, the way was open for licence blanks, abstracts, leaflets, hand-outs, etc. to be prepared and print-

,

cd. Tape for the automatic typewriter was also prepared to cope with letters and the addition to licences of 'ad hoc' conditions. More important than this, however, it was now possible to write detailed instructions and notes for the guidance of inspectors; these inspectors would be working on their own largely unsupervised 'and 'it was therefore essential that they should be able to outline the Council's probable requirements with confidence. In preparing the instructions and notes this prime purpose was kept in mind. There was no attempt to write an inspectors' bible to cover every conceivable s'ituation. The more usual aspects, say 95% of the problems likely to arise were covered, but even so it was made clear that alternatives were not necessarily excluded, When alterna-tJives were proposed ,the facts had to be reported to Head Office for decision. This in effect also helped to ensure consistency of approach and ,application throughout Greater London.

Automatic Renewal of Licences

It became apparent 'at a very early stage that many petroleum licences in Greater London expired on 31st March, 1965 and therefore fell due for renewal on '0' day itself. To have attempted normal renewal on '0' day would have been a virtually impossible task. The Minister was therefore persuaded to make an Order extending the period of currency of any licence expiring 'between 31st March, 1965 and 30th June, 1965 to 30th June, 1965, thereby ensuring that no petroleum licence required renewal until 1st July, 1965. I cannot over-stress the advantage of this three months moratorium. Without it there must have been real chaos. I would urge you most strongly to ensure that similar provision is made in your re-organisation.

Getting the System to Work

The three months was used in different ways by the inspectorate and the head office staff. The inspectors were concerned to identify the licensed premises on the ground, to introduce themselves to licensees and to explain to the licensees the new address to which they should submit applications for alterations, extensions, etc. To assist him in this exercise each inspector was given a printed slip to hand to each licensee with the request that it be kept with the licence.

At his initial visit the inspector was also able quickly to assess the general standard and to identify those premises that were so horrific that at first sight the licences should not 'be renewed. Strangely enough most licensees when the dangers were pointed out to them accepted the position and voluntarily surrendered their licences. In two cases the council had formally to refuse to licence the premises. One of these two licensees decided to appeal against the council's decision; the ,appeal was subsequently denied by the Home Office.

Assimilating Records

While inspectors were :he 'feel' of their districts, Head Office staff were asslmIlatmg the records from the 60 constituent former Councils, preparing licensing lists and generally trying to rest?re orde.r out of sheer unadulterated chaos. Before '0' day lists of lI.c7nsed cases were obtained fromaII 60 constituent authOrities. From these lists each premises was allocated a registered number the first two

digits of which indicated the London Borough. Three loose leaf ledgers were prepared, one in numerical order, one in alphabetical order of the name of the licensee and the other in alphabetical order of the address of the licensed premises. A copy of each sheet in the alphabetical register was sent to the appropriate district or senior inspector so that he could prepare suitable 'route' slips 'in respect of each of his premises. The only available data on each slip at that time was name, address, quantity and date of renewal. File covers bearing ,the premises registered number and address were prepared for each licensed premises at the same time as the registers. As records were received from the old authorities they were placed appropriately in these folders. On or about '0' day all records and furniture had to be transported by removal men already overloaded by the demands from other offices. The result was that despite the most careful and detailed instructions most of the furniture, records, etc. ended up dumped in a pile in the middle of the largest available room. As soon as this mess was cleared, and it took a couple of days, preparations had to start on the process of renewing all the licences expiring on 30th June, 1965.

The first Renewal

It had 'been -apparent from the first that a licence on G.L.C. conditions could not be granted in respect of particular premises until a full survey of those premises bad been made-it had been suspected and proved to be true some authorities had no drawings or details of the premises which they licensed. All data relating ,to these premises had apparently been locked away in the mind of ,the former petroleum officer, Who now had dis-appeared into the maelstrom of Greater London. In other cases a single set of drawings submitted for approval under the Petroleum (ConSOlidation) Act 1928 and other Acts was ,taken for use under those other Acts. Thus the first renewal of a licence by the G.L.C. had to be made on the conditions attached by the former licensing aU'thol"ity. Once it was clear that 'a premise did not fall into the 'horrific' clasS process of inviting renewal followed automatically. ThiS first renewal was for varying periods and ,the periods were so 'arranged that the renewals expired at the rate of a few h d d . rs I have un re ID each month of the next ,three yea. d already explained this device for spreading the work-loa of renewal.

LicenSing on the Council's Conditions

Th L c was on the e second renewal of a licence by the G. f 11 d't' . ant that a u con I Ions approved by the Council. ThiS me until new licence had to be issued. This could not be the premises concerned had been fully surveyed. es the survey threw up the many deficiencies at some premls These basically fell into three categories ;-

(a) those deficiencies which could be easily and cheaply remedied;

(b) those deficiencies which were of such a minor nature that they could be ignored; and

(c) those deficiencies which could not be remedied without major redevelopment of the premises.

Deficiencies in category (b) were, of course, ignored and in the case of category (a) a letter was sent requesting that the necessary works be carried out as ·a concomitant licence renewal. So far as category (c) was concerned, '1t must be remembered that the really hazardous cases had already been weeded out. A decision was taken that category (c) cases would continue to be accepted for licence only so long as no major alterations were made at the premises 'and no application for transfer of the licence was received. (After all people should not lightly be put out of business because of policy changes following local government re-organisation). A letter was sent to the licensee pointing out that no approval of any transfer or major alteration would be forthcoming unless the premises were brought wholly into line with the Council's standards. (A similar letter is sent with every subsequent renewal of the licence). It was anticipated that this approach would ensure virtual eradication of the 'major defect' cases within a decade. Now some seven years after the decision was taken nearly two-thirds of the category (c) cases have either dis·appeared or been satisfactorily redeveloped.

In Retrospect

Looking back on ·the exercise ,in Greater London it all went surprisingly smoothly. This was achieved in no small measure by pre-planning. There are a number of lessons to be learned, as I 'see it. It is important that new inspectors should have a quick run round their districts immediately after re-organisation so that they can introduce themselves to licensees and inform them of the new address to which notification, etc., should be sent-as I have previously mentioned this is conveniently done by means ofa printed hand-out. On ,the administrative side, the essential is to use every device to buy sufficient time to deal with problems in an orderly and sensible manner.

Miscellaneous

In London we found that as 'D' day approached the existing authorities became more and more reluctant to deal with new proposals. It became necessary to set up machinery whereby the Greater London Council was able to deal with the proposals on 'an unofficial basis before 'D' day. Effectively a small skeleton staff had to be deployed as the need arose. In taking their laissez-faire attitude some officers of the old authorities were well-intentioned. Others, to put it crudely, had just lost interest.

Communications

In an organisation such as exists in the Greater London Council Petroleum Branch, internal communications play a vital role. We created our organisation with the idea of keeping 'a man on the ground in touch with the public. In doing this we could, if we were not care ful, make this man remote from Head Office. Our only contact with him could be by correspondence plus the daily 'phone call he is required to make to Head Office 'to pick up urgent messages. This we make a point of ensuring that there are regular meetings between Head Office staff and inspectorate. Once a quarter there is a join't meeting of Head Offiee staff and the inspectorate at which problems are discussed. A paper is read, so far as is possible by a member of Head Office staff or the inspectorate, ,although we do have guest speakers on matters of particular interest. Once a month Heads of Divisions have a meeting with senior inspectors under the chairmanship of the Head of the Branch. Once a fortnight each senior inspector has a meeting with his district inspectors. Information flows both ways, policy and decisions down; feed-back and comment up.

BRANCH REPORTS

Scottish

The Annual General Meeting of ,the Branch was held at Aberdeen on Friday, 23rd March, 1973.

Present 37 membe·rs were present.

ApolOgies

11 apologies for absence were received. The meeting was officially 'opened, and the delegates welcomed by Lord Provost John Smith of Aberdeen, who was thanked by ,the Branch Chairman, Mr. Ken McLeod, for giving of his time to perform the opening ceremony and for the warmth of his welcome.

The morning session was devoted to a talk on submerged pumping systems as marketed by Tokheim Corporation, United Kingdom Divis-ion, presented by Itheir General Manager, Mr. O. B. Rankine. With the aid 'Of slides and a working

model, he gave a full 'account of the method of 'Operation of the pumping unit and associated components, and demonstrated tthe cbangesin .the layout of ·tanks, pipelines and dispensing points tha1t could be made, 'Offering not 'Only greater efficiency but also savings in initial costs. At ques·tion time he dealt fully with points raised by members and was able tc expand on 'Some 'Of ·the points raised dUl'ling his talk in the ·subsequent discussion period. At the close of ,the session he was thanked on behalf of the Branch by Mr. Bruce Collier.

The Branch was entertained to lunch by Aberdeen Corporation, at which the Branch Chairman Itook the opportunity of :thanking the Corporation for the excellent arrangements and hospLtaHty prov.ided for the meeting. Councillor Urquhart 'acknowledged on behalf of the Corporation.

Minutes

The minutes ·of the Annual General Meeting held at B.P. Refinery, Grangemouth, 'on 14th March, 1972, copies of which had previously been circulated, were approved.

Secretary and Treasurer's Report

The report of the Secretary and Treasurer, copies of which had been previously circulated, was approved.

The Chairman drew attention to the fact that membership had been regularised in accordance with the new Branch Rules.

Report by Branch Representative

The report by the Branch Representative to the of the Association, copies of which had been preVIOusly circulated, was approved.

Mr. Short, Branch Representative, speaking of his report, drew a:ttention to Item 3(c) and -intimated that the Council had agreed to underwrite the holding of a Northern Branches School at Lancaster University from 20th to 23rd August, 1973. The school would be a basic one for officers who had not previously attended a COurse.

Accompanied by the Branch Chairman, he had attended a meeting at which the decision was taken to proceed with the course, and ithe Branch Vice-Chairman Elect, Mr. Turnbull, had been appointed to a sub-committee of four to carry out the arrangements.

Mr. Turnbull gave bl1ief details of progress ·to date and stated that he would be attending 'a meeting on 27th March to progress the 'arrangements. Further details as they became available would be circulated to Authorities by the Secretary.

The Secretary gave details of a Southern Branches School to be held at Surrey University from 8th to 1 Hh April, at a cost of £25 per person. A few places were still available and ,anyone wishing to attend ,this course should contact the Course Organiser, Mr. C. R. Peskett, Chief Public Health Inspector, Godalming.

Before leaving ,this item, the Chairman paid tribute to Mr. Short, 'the Branch Representative, for the work he had done in this capacity over the past six years.

The Chairman reported on .the Special General Meeting of ,the Association at Barrow upon Soar on nth October, 1972 and gave his 'impression of the future outlook of the Associa:tion in the light of Local Government r-organisation.

Correspondence

The Chairman read a letter from Mr. R. P. Holdaway, Association Chairman, apologising for being unable ,to attend the meeting, 'and stating that the resignation of Mr. Short from the Council of the AssocIation had come as an unhappy surprise. He stated that as Branch Representative and Secretary, Mr. Short had done so much to establish such a flourishing Branch and the support of its members has been a source of satisfaction to the Association.

Annual Subscription 1974

After some discussion and guidance from the Chairman, Mr. Baird moved that in view of ,the uncenain position of the Association, no Branch subscription should be levied for the year 1974. He was seconded ?y Mr. Clementson. Mr. Anderson, seconded by Mr. CollIer, moved that the subscription remained the same for 1974. On a vote being taken, it was decided that the subscription remain unchanged.

Election of Officers and Committee

The Chairman remarked that he had now come to, e pom he had been waiting for all year, when he handed reins to his successor. One nomination had been , being that of Mr. R. S. L. Anderson of Ayr Chairman declared him elected, wished him well ID hIS Y of office and invited him to take the Chair.

th 't

ed members

In accepting office, Mr. Anderson assur il'ty he would discharge his duties to ,the best of hIS ab : the fur:therance of the aims 'and objects of theh Br:n: don: thanked the retiring Chairman for the work e a during his year of office.

h ving been received, The eX'act number of nommatIOns a 'ttee the remaining office bearers and members of commI were elected 'as follows :Chairman

R. S. L. Anderson (Ayr County). Vice-Chairman G. E. Turnbull (Edinburgh).

Honorm'Y Secretary-Treasurer J. Short (Paisley).

Five Members to serve on Committee G.Arneil (Mid and East Lothian). H. B. Collier (Clydebank and Dumbarton). R. A. Harris (Dumfries).

J. Kerr (Forth Ports Authority). D. McGregor (StirHng).

Branch Representative to Council of the ASSOciation R. S. L. Anderson.

Auditors

R. McGill (Clydebank 'and Dumbarton). S. Steadman (Dunbartonshire).

Place of Next Meeting . C unty

The Chairman intimated that he had consuJrted Jus I Clerk with a view to having the next Annual GeneraB anch ing in Ayr. It was agreed to remit this matter 11:0 the r Executive Committee.

Other BUSiness.

The Secretary 'intimated 'that there would ' e s of the of the Executive Committee following the closure meeting.

b hort meetmg

Vote of Thanks te

Il raposed a vo Before 'the meeting concluded, Mr. Tumbu P ess of the of thanks to all Who had contributed ,to surr the accmeeting, in particular, Aberdeen CorporatIOn l1::e presence ommodation 'and hospitality prov.jded and fO; meeting. of Lord Provost Smith who 'So 'ably opene ongratulate<l Mr. Rankin of Tokheim U.K. Ud. was ItO be C submerged on the excellent paper he had onElrick, Chief pumping systems. Thanks were also due tod r. the Branch Inspector of Weights and Measures, Aber for Chairman, the Executive Committee and t a letter be their efforts. It was unanimously agreed t .a the apprecsent to the Town Clerk of Aberdeen, hospitality iation of the Branch for 'the faCIlitIes a provided.

Anglia

The Annual General Meeting of the Branch was held Saffron Walden R.D.C. Offices, on Thursday, 26th Aprll, 1973.

The meeting was opened by the Chairman, Mr. C. W. Parcell, Hunts. and Godmanchester, who welcomed the 21 members present. Six apologies were received.

Chairman's Report

The Chairman, Mr. C. W. Parcell, reviewed the activities of 'the BI'anch during his year of office and spoke at some length on what he the future of the Association might be. He emphasised to members .thatafter Local Government re-organisation, when many members presently administering petroleum legislation would cease to have the responsibilitty, they would nevertheless be involved in petroleum storage by virtue of other professional interests and responsibilities. Mr. Parcell thought that many of our present members may then well wish to take up associate membership of this body in order to keep abreast of developments in ,the petroleum field, and also to retain the valuable contacts which have been a unique feature of the Association.

In finalising his report, the Chairman thanked members for what he termed 'an enjoy'able term of office' and he wished the Branch and the Association a most successful future.

Honorary Secretary-TreasurerBranch Representative's Report

The Honorary Secretary-Treasurer-Branch Representative, Mr. J. W. Frid, Oity of Cambridge, in presenting his report to the meeting dealt firstly with the Branch accounts which had been previously circulated to members. He told members that the balances were similar to the previous years and were adequate for the Branch's purposes.

The HonoI'ary Treasurer -asked that the Branch record their thanks to the services of the Auditor, Mr. Hoyle, South Cambridgeshire who had so willingly assisted him again. This was 'agreed. There were no comments from members regarding the ·accounts and it was proposed by Mr. Scrivener, seconded by Mr. Lee, 'that the statement of account be accepted. This was agreed. The Honorary Secretary then went on to apologise to members for the delay in holding the Annual GeneI'al Meeting and also for the fact that no provision had been made for any Branch 'activity during the afternoon. This was due to the fact that other arrangements which included a visit to the Ford Motor Company experimental seotion, Bas'ildon, had fallen through at a late date. Mr. Frid went on to inform members that during the year he had received 'a number of enquiries from Branch members regarding various aspects of petroleum work and this had been deaht with either by himself or by .the Chairman of the Association's Reference and Legal Committee. He hoped that recipients of the advice were assisted by the various comments. The Honorary Secretary then informed members that the Association's membership continued at a much

higher level during this year of Local Government organisation than had been expected and that he hoped thlS was 'an 'augury for the future.

The Honorary Secretary reported that during the year, the Association had received considerable correspondence from ,the Home Offiffice, Instrtute of Petroleum and other bodies interested and involved in the safe handling and storage of petroleum 'and it was becoming quite clear that the Association's views on ,these matters were being sought in ever-increasing volume. Some of the correspondence mentioned by the Honorary Secretary resulted in considerable discussion by the meeting on the subjects of glass reinforced fibre interceptors and tanks, pitch fibre cable ducts, and the aotion of sulphates upon concrete ins1lallations. The Honorary Secretary concluded his report by thanking the officers and members of the Branch for their assistance and interest during the year.

Election of Officers for the Ensuing Year

The Chairman, Mr. C. W. Parcell, informed the meeting that there had been one nomina'tion received for the office of Chairman for the year 1973-74; this being Mr. H. Scrivener (the Branch's Vice-Chairman) Saffron Walden R.D.C. Mr. Scrivener was then elected and duly installed as Chairman of the Branch. He thanked members for the honour which they had paid him by electing him to office and he assured members that he would do his utmost to serve the best interests of the Branch during the year.

The Chairman asked for nominations for the office of Vice-Chairman and the name of Mr. E. B. Brown, City of Cambridge, was put forward by Mr. Hill, seconded by Mr. Lee. This was carried by the meeting and Mr. Brown was duly elected Vice-Chairman of the Branch for the year 1973-74.

It was proposed by Mr. Wookey, seconded by Mr. Wilson, that Mr. J. W. Frid 'continue in office as Honorary SecretaryTreasurer-Branch Representative and after Mr. Scrivener had thanked him on behalf of the Branch for his past services, Mr. Frid was duly elected.

It was proposed by the Chairman, seconded by the Honorary Secretary, that the Branch Committee be thanked for their previous services and be 'asked to continue in office. This was carried and Mr. Cl ark, Southend, and Mr. Lee, Chelmsford, were duly re-elected. The names of Mr. Hoyle, South Cambs., and Mr. Hill, City of Cambridge, were proposed and seconded as Audi,tors for the year 1973-74. This was agreed by the meeting.

Any Other Business

Under this item, the venue for ·the next meeting was raised and it was suggested that this be held in ,the autumn Felixstowe. It was Ieflt for the Branch Chairman and Honorary Secretary to make arrangements for this meeting.

A vote of thanks was proposed to the Saffron Walden Council and Mr. Scr,ivener for the accommodation and hospitality which had been afforded to members and this was agreed. The meeting's appreciation was shown in the usual way.

Wessex & South Wales

The Annual General Meeting of the Branch was held on Monday, 7-th May, 1973 at Stokefield House, Castle Street, Thornbury.

Present

The Chairman and 14 members.

Councillor F. W. Perry, J.P., Chairman of the Thornbury Rural District Council ,attended ,the opening of the me'eting and eX'tended a welcome to ,the members. In his interesting address of welcome, he recalled originally welcoming members to ,the inaugural meet,ing of .the Branch held 1n December, 1968. He expressed pleasure that on more than one occasion the ,Branch had av'ailed themselves of the facilities which the were happy and willing ,to provide. lIe referred brIefly to Ithe re-organisa'tion of Local Authorities and ,their duties which would affect both him personally and most members of the Association. He allied himself with members in the problems involved with these changes and wished all members well for the future. '

Mr. T. L. Cox, ,as Branch Chairman, replying to ,the welcome, expressed his personal pleasure '<lit once again meeting Councillor Perry and the sincere thanks of the Branch for all that Councillor Perry personally and ,the Thornbury Council had done to facilitate the formation of the Branch and ,the holding of numerous meetings, and in this connection he referred to the work of the Branch Secretary.

Minutes

The minutes of the Branch Meeting held at Thornbury on Monday, 16th October, 1972 which had been circulated with the agenda, were taken as read and signed by the Chairman.

Matters Arising

Arising fl10m the minU'tes the Chairman drew members' attention ,to the problems of the Association in consequence of Local Government re-organisation.

Apologies

The Secretary reported receipt of apologies from 14 members.

Chairman'S Report

The Chairman presented his report which was accepted.

Branch Representative's Report

Mr. S. W. D. had expressed his regret at being unable to attend ,the meeting due to his involvement with the problems of Looal Government re-organisation .in the North and West pal'lts of the County of GloucestershIre. Due to a clerical oversight -the report which he had prepared had not reached the Secretary in time to be presented to the meeting. In the circumstances -the meeting. decided .that the Secretary ,should circulate the report WIth the mInutes of this meeting.

Treasurer's Report

This report which had been circulated with the agenda was presented by ,the Honorary He. drew attention to a typing error whIch had occurred In the

totalling of the finanoial statement which had resulted liD the pence figures of the credit column being ·in reverse order. Thecorreoted figures should read £44.34p. He further stated that ,the Honorary Auditors had now examined and certified the accounts. On the proposition of Messrs. Bames and McCulloch, the meeting accepted the report.

Arising from this report the Secretary drew attention to four recently joining associate members from the Dorchester area, three of whom were present at this meeting. The Chairman extended a welcome to them and introduced them to the meeting.

The meeting received and considered the minutes and recommendations of 'the Executive Committee Meeting held at Thombury on 19th March, 1973. The report of this meeting had been circulated with 'the agenda and considerab!e discussion took place in 'respeot of Petroleum ID consequence of the re-organisation of Local AuthOl'ltIes statutory duties.

At this s'tage in ,the meeting various members their views and ouUined 'the position in their areas. Mr. Adams, Swindon B.C., expressed ,the vIev: that in certain areas mixed disciplines might be in,:olve? ID licensing of petroleum spirit. Mr. Barnes, CardIff CIty, saId that many County Councils had not yet appointed shadowcommittees and ,that ,the steering committees with re-organisation have tended to not be too speCIfiC ID their recommendations relating to petroleum.

The Cha'irm'an and several members spoke and the view ,that the Association will be needed 'as a vehicle for professional respect in relation to petroleum duties. In these circumstances indiV'idual officers may pay the membership fees.

The Chairman expressed ,the thanks of the Branch Ito Messrs. F. H. Lewis and Captain Poeton for acting as Honorary for the past year. The meeting noted with appreclabon ,the result of correspondence which the Branch had had wIth the Department of ;the Environment and the Home Office concerning night deHvery of fuel oil, etc. Mr. T. K. Blackwell, Sherbome U.D. and others, outlined with which they had been involved, the dIfficultIes being to locate the source and/or the culprIts.

Election of Officers Chairman

The Secretary outlined .the pos,ition regaroing Mr. CheLtenham Borough, and Mr. Crowther, GIOUce;er_ CIty, spoke of the serious 'illness which Mr. Clark had s.u . ed The Cha' pprecul'tiOn many members spoke ID a . hed Mr. Clark s 'lD'terest in the work of ;the Branch and hIm 'a speedy recovery, and 'it was unanimously pro? an that Mr. Maurice Clark, Cheltenham B., be elected ChaIrffi for the enSUing year.

Vice-Chairman

Assistant DiVisional Office J J Newport Borough .• h . r . ones, ted VIce- aVI!lg been nominated, was unanimously eleo ChaIrman,

At 'thi' t ed Assistant Div.. s Junc ure the Chairman congra'tula,t ISlonal Officer Jones on his promotion,

fIonorary Secretary-Treasurer

The present Secretary, Ron Huntington, h.aving expressed his willingness to continue, was re-appomted SecretaryTreasurer for the ensuing year.

Branch Representative Station Officer L. Haggett, Merthyr Tydfil C.B. Fire Brigade, was appointed Branch Representative for the ensuing year. The Chairman expressed .the sincere thanks of the Branch to Mr. S. W. D. Harris (retiring Branch Representative) fOI the work which he had done for .the Branch during the past years and said that members fully appreciated his involve· ment with the work of the organisation.

Executive Committee

The following members were appointed Committee :to the Eyecutive D. Addison

T. K. BIackwell

R. Crowther

L. Haggett

J. J. Storey

V. Rowlands

Honorary Auditors

Port of Bristol Sherborne U.D.C. Cloucester City Merthyr Tydfil Bath C.B. LlaneUi R.D.

Surveyor Engineer W.&M. F.B. W.&M. P.H.

The retiring Auditors having indicated .their willingness .to serve for a further term, Messrs. F. H. Lewis, Cheltenham B. and Captain Poeton, Port of Bristol, were unanimously re-elected Honorary Auditors for the ensuing year.

Scrutineers

It was decided not to appoint Scrutineers until such time as it became essential to do so.

Correspondence

The Secretary reported upon various correspondence with which he had been involved.

Future Meetings

In 'the discussions it was generally felt that it would be advan.tageous to hold 'the October meeting further 1nto the West Country. T. K. BIackwell, Sherborne U.D., having indicated his willingness to assist in this matter, Lt was agreed .that efforts be made to hold the meeting a't Sherborne at a date to be fixed in October. Arising out of this discussion many members expressed an interest to visit the Fire Services Training School at Moreton-in-the-Marsh. who ha? already had an opportunIty of visit.ing It mdlcated the Wide appeal which such a visit would cover among the wide range of professional associations in the Branch. The Committee thereupon resolved that the Secretary endeavour to make arrangements for such a visit, either during Ithe last two weeks of June or the Middle weeks of September. It was thought that if numbers permitted, j.t might be possible to extend an invitation to a limited number of members from another Branch.

The meeting adjourned for lunch and was reconvened for 2.15 p.m.

Address

At the afternoon session, Mr. R. Crowther, Gloucester City, introduced .the subject of the use of submersible pumps in connection wIth 'installations at service stations. :Et was appreciated that since the decision to ask Mr. Crowther to talk on this matter 'The Bulletin' had featured articles on

it. Nevertheless, as Gloucester City had been ?ioneers. in this type of installation, it was felt much useful mformatlOn could be gleamed from the first-hand knowledge Crowther. Briefly he explained 'the installation as of a pump in a small 'tube operated by a small h.p. electnc motor operating three 'in Hne' impellers, which build up to 30 p.s.i. The ins·tallation being totally enclosed, fully protected :and with overload safeguards. There was no danger of a spark causing any fire or explosion. The decision to alloW the instanation was arrived at providing ·the Home Office had no objection. In the event the Home Office had objection. In licensing the installation the Local AuthOrity placed the full onus for the safe operating of the installation on the Petroleum Company. The 'advantage so far as distribution was concerned was that it allowed a complete blender station operating with only two storage tanks, with ring main distribution with draw-off points at each pump. There must be never less than 1r dia. pipes to each of the pumps in use. It was true that there was a slight drop in delivery pressure dependant upon the number of pumps in use ·at any ·one time. Nevertheless, any sudden drop in pressure immediately shut off .the whole ins·t;allation. Questions were asked concerning the effeot of leaks or of 'accidents, and Mr. Crowther outlined the circumstances of a practical and unintentional test on such a system when a pump was accidentally pulled over .the less than half a pint loss of petrol. Many members ,took part in the ensuing discussion from which the following facts emerged. The submersible pumps can e'asily be removed for reconditioning and replacing in a simple operation lasing approxImately half an hour. The dispenser hoses must be 'plain' not 'corrugated'. Two pumps will deliver to six dispenser pOints and the pressure will give eight gallons per minute. It must be appreciated that in this type of ·installa.Non, the name 'dispenser points' replaces the old name of pumps.

There was a general vote of thanks from the meeting to Mr. Crowther.

Any Other Business

Mr. Barnes, Cardiff City, expressed the view that it might be as well for ·the Branch to take up with the National Secretary the requisition of a reappraisal of 'boundaries fOl the Association in the light of the changes of names fOI of Wales, i.e. Monmouth now being Gwent, Glamorgan bemg made into Mid, West and South, etc., and in respect of Bournemouth and Christchurch being transferred from Hampshire to Dorset. It was agreed that this be taken up with the Na'Nonal Secretary.

Several members raised the question of the workload caused by the annual issue of licences each December. Mr. Addison, POt1t of Bristol, mentioned that the G.L.C. licence for three years. Annual licences invariably cause peak loading. Members expressed various views of the manner in which they overcame ·this peak loading period and Mr. Barnes, Cardiff City, ·outlined bis scheme of four vis'its per installation per year without regard to the particular lieens'ing date.

The meeting concluded with light refreshments provided by the kind hospitality of the Chairman of the Thornbur)l Rural District Council.

ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

Held at Hastings on Wednesday, 4th April, 1973 at 2-30 p m.

The meeting was opened by Mr. R. P. Holdaway, Chairman, who welcomed the 72 members present.

Apologies

Apologies were received from 24 members.

Minutes

The minutes of the 1972 Annual General Meeting were put to the meeting and accepted as a correct record.

Matters Arising

There were no matters arising.

Chairman's Report

Mr. Holdaway, in his address, stated that he had -thoroughly enjoyed his year of office as Chairman of the Association, and his thanks were due -to the membership for eleoting him to this position. He had visited a number of Branches during the year 'and ·found great pleasure in meeting many colleagues, particularly those who were names only to him in -the days of his Editorship, but whose enthusiasm and interest in the affairs of the Association had helped ,to build up such thriving 'and enthusiastic Branches, which, as with all similar organisations, were the backbone of the Association.

Mr. Holdaway continued by saying that when he took office 'twelve months 'ago, he thought that sometime during the year the position of the Association in Ithe light of Local Government 're-organisation would be resolved. That position, however, has not come to pass and his successor would have the responsibility of steering the Association into the unknown future. It was clear, however, that the responsibility for ,administration of Petroleum legistIation would be in ,the hands of Ithe new County Councils. It was highly likely that the enforcement duties would rest either between the Fire Service or the Trading Standards Service, perhaps a combination of both. Mr. Holdaway said ,that he from a personal point of view, the loss of expertIse from officers in the Public Health and Surveyors departments of district councils which seemed inevitable in the s:t-up. He thanked .thes'e officers and those of other for their SUpport over the past fifiteen years and felt ,tha,t m many ways th A .. .' th e SSoclatlOn was unique In· e local government field in bringing together under common ground four or five diSCiplines of f . I ffi all of whom had so much to offer. pro eSSlOna 0 cers,

. This. sharing of knowledge with no inter-departmental JealOUSies led to the 'successful emergence of the ASSOCiatIOn 'as a force in the petroleum world. It was he continued, because of emergence, and the links that had been With the Home Office-F.xplosives Branch, and the of Petroleum, that it was imperative the Assocla'tlOn should continue in being. He

appealed to ,those Chief Officers present who may be responsible for petroleum administration to work .to this end, and he stated that 'as soon as the new counties had decided upon their structure and establishment ·and into which department this function would be placed, the Secretary in conjunction with the Association's Honorary Legal Adviser, would be in contaot with Chief Executive Officers.

Mr. Holdaway concluded by thanking the officers and members of the Council of ,the Association for their support during ,the year, his Local Authority for allowing him leave of absence to undertake the many duties of his office, and his own staff for their undoubted help and assistance.

Honorary Secretary's Report

The Honorary Secretary reported upon membership of the Association and gave the following figures as the total membership at the date of the AG.M. Local Authority members and officers 606; Associate members 129; Bulletin subscribers 46; Honorary members 13.

The Honorary Secretary expressed his pleasure at ,the high level of membership during ,this period when ther,: so much anxiety as ,to the future of petroleum admInlstration.He went on to inform members that the Council of the Associa'tion had prepared the ground for a series of meetings to take place between the Association, London Council, ,the Institute of Petroleum and, the Home Office in order to discuss and prepare a reVISIon of the Association's Code of Practice. Members will be kept informed as to the progress of these meetings and the Honorary Secretary 'requested any member present who had queries or amendments regarding .the present Model CO.des 1to contact him as soon as possible in order th·at poss1ble amendments could he considered by the committee.

The Honora·ry Secretary further repoI1ted Ithat the year ,there had been a continued volume of enqu'Ir1es from members concerning various problems which had arisen and these had been passed on to the Chairman of the Reference and Legal Committee for his committee's considered replies. He reported that this service to members appeared to be working satisfactorily. The Honorary Secretary concluded by making reference to the wide scope of correspondence received by him during the year which ,indicated quite clearly that the Associll1tion had an important role to fill in the many considerations which are undertaken in ,the field of petroleum safety. The Honorary 'Secretary thanked the other officers and members for their assistance and coopera'tion during 'the year and finally he ·repOl'ted the resignation of the Associoation's Auditor, Mr. A Senior.

Honorary Treasurer's Report

The Honorary Treasurer reported in the following words :-

"I have pleasure in presenting my Annual Report for the

year 1972. The uncertainty of the future destina'tion of the responsibility for the ,administration of the Petroleum Acts and of the continuation of the Association necessitated more meetings >than usual. That, together with the general riSe in prices without any increase in 'Subscription fees, was the principal cause of the unsatisfactory financial position at the end of theyear.

As any change in the amount of the subscription fee cannot be implemented until next year it is not recommended that 'any change be made.

S'ome Branches were enough to dispense with capitation fees and so helped the Association's financial position.

It has been a pleasure ,to be of service to the Association."

Honorary Editor's Report

The report from the Editor cannot be ·of any great length as his 'activities are reflected throughout the year in the quarterly edition of The Bulletin and all the fauHsand failings ·are open in its pages for all to see. The costs of publica>tion including the postal charges are gradually rising, but we have kept within the expenses laid down by your Council.

My <thanks are due :to all officers and members of the Council for :their support during the pa·st year and in particular I must mention your Secretary, Treasurer, immediate paS't Chairman (Bob Holdaway) ·and WaIter Hetherington, also B:ranch Secretaries ·and contributors over the past few years.

We ,try 'to cover a wide field and to strike a balanced view, but this becomes quite difficult if information in the shape of 'articles, letters, items of news, etc. do not come to hand.

I would once more appeal .to all members to put pen .to paper and let us know of your problems, and of your experiences so that we may help or profit by this wider knowledge. Use ·the pages of The Bulletin. We are ready publish any view or ·any comment, no matter how different ours-so please be ·ready to play your part in the productIOn of your own journal.

Dur!ng .the past year as well 'as ,the publication of The Bulletm, we have 'also published electrical certificates, brochures and supplements.

Election of Officers for the Ensuing Year

The Honorary Secretary advised the Chairman that there had been one nomination for Ithe office of Chairman that of J. W. Hewison (Havant 'and Waterloo U.D.C.). The ChaIrman addressed the meeting and asked the members present to endorse this choice. This the members did, and Mr. Hewison was duly installed ,as Chairman of ,the Association for the coming year. The new Chai.rman then .addressed the meeting:-

"lam honoured and indeed very conscious of the compliment paid me by the Association in electing me as its Chairman for ,the ensuing year, ayear which in my opinion may be ,the most crucial inHs history.

Being new to the office I will no doubt make mis,takes but it will be my earnest endeavour to do everything within my power to further the aims ·and aspirations of the Association.

I am sure there will be difficult days ahead ·and it will not be an easy task ;to maintain, particularly in the stages, ,the harmonious a<tUtude shown by the disciplines in the past, but with common sense and goodWill on ,all sides it can be done.

The Association has over the years gained great respect in many fields and has an effective voice throughout the country and it will be my duty to see that these assets are not eroded or wasted through either neglect or apathy.

I am also conscious of the very hard work put in over the past few years by a small band of dedicated men, building from nothing, the Association as we know it today, and I feel we all owe them a deep debt of gratitude

I cannot say .tha-t I have been particularly well groomed for the task ahead for as Vice-Chairman I was never called on to perform 'any of the Chairman's dU'ties, but this I am sure can only reflect on the quiet, efficient enthusiasm of Bob Holdaway, who during his year got through a tremendous amount of work with the minimum of fu'Ss and bother and I would Iike to thank him most sincerely, on behalf of us all, for all the sterling work he did during his year of office, and we are indeed deeply indebted to him.

I would also like at this stage to thank Mr. Senior for his services as Honorary Auditor during the past years.

Auditing is one of those back room jobs one hears little aboU't unless something has gone seriously wrong with the finances, fortunately we heard very Uttle from Mr. Senior for which we are yery thankful, but nevertheless all his efforts on our behalf have been most sincerely appreciated".

Having been nominated, the following officers were installed in office for the coming year: J. Beer (Worces'ter City) Vice-Chairman; J. W. Frid (City of Cambridge) Hon, orary Secretary; C. T. Peacock (Brierley, Y·orks.) Honorary Treasurer; B. W. C. Thacker (Teesside) Honorary Editor; P. D. Wadsworth (Town Clerk, Dudley, Worcs.) Honorary Legal Adviser; H. Seal (Hemsworth U.D.C.) Honorary Auditor.

There were seven nominations for membership to Council and the following were elected by ,the meeting: E. V. Beeby, Rugby R.D.C., G. Beresford, Hastings C.B., D. Hall, Newcastle-under-Lyme M.B., K. C. Hughes, Stafford M.B., T. Kerr, Glanford Brigg R.D.C., K. MacLeod, Dunbarton C.C., R. E. J. Roden, Birmingham C.B.

Appointment of Scrutineers

Two Scrutineers, Mr. H. Martin and Mr. L. B. Wilson (City of Cambridge) were appointed.

Notice of Motion

There were no notices of motion.

Any Other Busines

There being no other business the meeting was closed at 4.20 p.m.

HAZARDOUS CHEMICALS FORUM

Lt. Col. Andrew Jardine, J.P., D.L., Chairman of the Fire Brigade Committee of the Greater London Council and Mr. H. F. Chisnall, O.S:E., Q.F.S.M., M.I.FireE., Deputy Chief Officer of the London Fire Brigade, welcomed 200 delegates to a forum to discuss a coding system for hazardous chemicals which was held in London's County Hall.

The forum opened with a number of film clips showing fire incidents and multi-vehicle pile-ups on motorways. The scene was thus set for Divisional Officer C. W. Clisby, Grad.l.FireE., to outline the difficulties faced by Fire Service Personnel. Mr. Clisby said :-

'It is a major concern !to all fire service officers that the crews under their command, in carrying out their firefighting and humanitarian duties, dash in where angels fear to tread without regard to their own safety. It is a truism that the fireman's -pitfall is his own heroism. For this reason, without impeding their progress in dealing with an incident, we need to protect them by prescribing procedures for handling specified types of incident and by providing them, in advance, with as true an evaluation as we can, of the hazards they are likely to meet and the precautions they should adopt. Sir Charles Cunningham, who enquired into fire service pay and conditions wrote 'A fireman must have special personal qualities. He must have physical courage. On occasions, he must voluntarily face extremities of danger which confront few other people in times of peace. It is the element of risk and the demand for courage, for bravery, which sets the fireman's job apart from others'.

The basic problem of the fire fighter in dealing with dangerous chemicals is one of identification. What he wants to know and to know quickly is

What sort of substance am I faced with ?

What is it likely to do to me -if I come into contact with it?

How should I protect myself?

What can I do to render it safe?

We must find a ready and simple method of providing answers to these basic questions not only for the safety of the emergency services engaged in the op:ration b,;,t also that of the general public. The urgency Inherent In finding a solution grows every day and noth!ng must be allowed to delay progress in reaching that solutlOn.

Let us keep that in mind throughout the course of this Forum'.

Mr. K. G. H. Pitkethly, M.RE., A.I.A.O., I.A.I., then spoke about the difficulties encountered by the Ambulance Service as follows :-

'Usually when an ambulance crew turn out to an emergency they have little or no idea of what has happened at the scene. control do what they can to get as a picture as possible but generally speaking the crew IS told it is a road traffic accident or an accident in the home factory, etc. As a res.ult is the safety of the crew In question ,indeed it -IS qUIte ,true to say thaJt any danger there might be is usually very obvious, e.g., smell of gas

petrol the presence of fire damaged building electrical installations, etc. In other words, most of the dangers an ambulanceman is exposed to are well known and he is made well aware of these problems on his initial courses at the Area Training Schools. We are now faced with something quite different. As I understand the matter, we are faced with an ever increasing menace on our in the shape of hazardous chemicals being transported m bulk. I am told there are a great many chemical substances in transit each day. I have no doubt that many of them are . rttle doubt in themselves perfectly safe 'but equaHythere IS 1 that many of them present constant potential danger.

As far as the ambulance crew is concerned, the first problem is to identify the danger. It is for this reason the G.L.C. have devised a simple code and the 'Haze em scale. (See Fig. 1).

There is no doubt that the introduction of a scale of kind will in almost all cases go a long way to reduce t IS problem. Some weeks after the small working party .on this subject had been set up, I started to get the that part of the proposed scale was designed for! '= Ir t Service and the other part for Ambulance uses; thIS IS no so, it is just as important to the ambulanceman as anyone else.

t carrY on its

The London Ambulance SerVIce does no w ambulances protective clothing that would enabi;: a :;le to work in 'a chemically contaminated area, fo: .; s that reason -there has in the past been no need for. 'l:t. ow? the potential is increasing, should we consider ItS ISSue gency disaster

Should we re-write the part of our emer must plan to ensure that those with the proper protectIon be the first to arrive at the scene? ed ambulances

Should we consider specially equIPP k ? strategically placed to cover our motorway networ need to 'be

These and many other allied ed during resolved and no doubt will be raised and dISCUSS this afternoon's session'.

C S L'R CP., described Dr. B. G. B. Lucas, MD., M.R. .'., .:. ords ._ the health hazards to firemen in the followmg w .

'The present situation is that a fireman has to deal with unknown chemicals, and only finds out the hard way, e:g., corrosive burns on tunic ·or skin, toxic vapours coughing or streaming of eyes, irritant fumes,. or possrbly when fire fighting methods are applIed.

The experienced fireman gradually learns how to deal with individual problems through practice.

If chemicals were easily identified and a code of practice accepted, the psychological worry of uncertainty would disappear and the best methods of protection and fire fighting would be known.

Psychologically a fireman would be re-assured that the full effects of the hazard were appreciated, e.g., some fumes from burning plastics have caused irritation in lungs later. From a toxic fume and from corrosive chemicals points

of view, the correct line of action would be easy to carry out.

Ambulance personnel have the same psychological worry to some extent, though are unlikely to be exposed to big chemical concentrations.

Main advantage would be in immediate first aid treatment.

There are only a few differences in basic first aid, but these are important. Probably most important is to know whether chemical will have continuing effect.

Ambulancemen should know about delayed effects of chemicals, even though they may be unable to do anything about it.

Finally, identification of chemical will enable hospital to ascertain from the Central Bureau the important points to be considered in any long term treatment of condition'.

Dr. Howard Baderman, M.D., M.R.C.P., M.R.e.S., made the following remarks on the difficulties encountered by the medical profession in casualty wards :-

'1. Considering Accident and Emergency Department medical and nursing staff across the country, there is very little experience in treating this type of medical emergency at the present time. Such incidents as do occur tend to be the result of contamination either on industrial sites or much less commonly as a result of spillage of toxic substances in transit.

2. Information should perhaps be sought from Accident and Emergency Departments situated either near industrial complexes or near major rail -and road routes where such substances may be transported.

3. With the Department of Health's policy of closing small Casualty Departments and re-organising the Accident and Emergency Service on the basis of large omnicompetent departments, these major departments must be provided with explicit, but simplified and standardised procedures for dealing with the harmful effects of exposure covering the whole range of expected toxic materials.

4. Current medical thought seems to indicate that incidents due to a wide variety of toxic substances may best be treated by the most standardised procedure. A multiplicity of antidotes is unlikely to be indicated.

5. The use of 24 hour reference service of various Poisons Bureaux, such as that of Guy's Hospital, should be included in any manual of instruction held in Accident and Emergency Departments and the knowledge and resources of such Bureaux would be very useful in compiling any such manual.

6. Procedures for dealing with exposure to hazardous substances, issued to rescue personnel and to relevant hospital personnel probably should include information about radio-active contamination'.

At this stage in the proceeding the attention of the forum turned from the difficulties to seek possible solutions. Mr. Pitkethly spoke of the very simple 'HAZCHEM SCALE' Card which had been produced. (See Fig. I). The front of the card was basically for use by firemen whereas on the back were set out some very simple first aid measures. Mr. Pitkethly sa'id :-

'As I said earlier, the HAZCHEM Scale is just as important to the ambulanceman as to anybody else; if accepted, we would need at least two to each ambulance. I would suggest permanently secured in the cab of the vehicle, and each man should carry one as a personal issue. As far as the treatments recommended, these are very general indeed, -it may well be agreed that more sophisticated treatments may be needed. I am sure that there will be much discussion on this point. It should, however, be borne in mind that there is at the moment very little water carried on most ambulances, and there is also very little space left for storing. It therefore follows that only essentials should be added to the equipment of the vehicle'.

A fuller explanation of the 'HAZCHEM SCALE' W<iS given by Mr. M. W. PulHn, B.Sc., M.Inst.P. :_ (a) The Forum has already been reminded of the problems often encountered when the emergency services are called to the scene of an incident, for example, a tanker of sulphuric acid on its side and clearly marked as to its contents, or a store of mixed chemicals all marked with trade names only. How many of you present today can immediately describe the chemical properties of these items which have been involved in small fires or spillage incidents in London during the last few months? 1 'Trisil' 2 O.C.D. Caustic 3 U.C.L. 4 Lead fumerate 5 Armathern 236 6 Trylon APIOIPA 7 H 35

(trisodium silicate) (caustic soda plus additives) (polyphosphate and E.D.T.A.remove calcium deposits)

(xylene varnish) (two pack resin-one a cleaner based on acetone) (35% Hydrazine'in water

Apart from these there have been many incidents where the chemical name has been readily identified, but to the man first at the scene its chemical properties and therefore its potential hazards were unknown. If he was able to get to the container, read the name and the instructions and had suitable aids readily available, he could make a quick decision; if he could not get close to the container but knew the name of the contents, he would have had to radio back to headquarters and ask for the appropriate information hoping that it was listed on one of the 2,000 master cards. If it 'is not listed, further enquiries are needed. This all takes time.

(b) The aim of this emergency action code, is not to do away with the markings already on the containers, or to compete with or replace the recently introduced TREMCARDS used on vehicles, or the European and United Nations chemical codes, all of which can still be used 'in the ways agreed between industry and the governments concerned, but to add a code using a letter and a figure only that will immediately tell the non-scientific fireman, what to do and what not to do when he first arrives at an incident. It is envisaged that this code could be used on all containers from the smallest chemical bottle or cardboard box to the largest road tanker or railway truck, in buildings and

plant used for chemical production, in laboratories, etc. Included in this code would be all compounds whether potentially hazardous or not. Much time can be wasted by the emergency services when they encounter a spillage of a quantity of a white powder, ,which may eventually turn out to be, for instance, flour, but the packets were unmarked, or only had a commercial trade name on them, and no other information.

(c) It must be pointed out that the code has been designed to make use of the equipment already available to the first attendance fire appalince. Back-up facilities from the manufacturers and chemical experts can follow later. The initial training of the emergency services will give personnel the necessary knowledge of how to implement the code.

The Code (See Fig. 2)

(d) Some 2,000 chemicals were examined by the Scientific Branch in consultation with the Brigade. The chemicals were classified as follows :-

(i) into six groups according to the most suitable available extinguishing agent relating to their chemical properties;

(ii) the type of personal protection needed; (a) none (b) breathing apparatus only (c) full protective clothing (delta suits) to stop damage to the skin and absorption by it;

(iii) whether under any conditions of fire, spillage, reaction with other chemicals, they are explosive; and

(iv) how to deal with a spillage-for immediate action it 'is only necessary to know whether a substance should or should not be allowed to enter the drains with dilution.

This results in the Hazchem Scale having six groups _ Group 0 for all 'safe' chemicals and Groups 1-5, each with eight separate grades within the Group, for all other chemicals and compounds. The spillage of chemicals in any of these Groups can be allowed to enter the drains, provided there is suitable dilution, when the letters '0', 'P', 'R', 'S', 'T', are used. When the letters 'W', 'X', 'Y', 'Z' are used the chemical must be prevented from entering the drains. Any disposal to the drains or a river must be notified to the local authority, hearing in mind the provisions of the Deposit of Poisonous Waste Act, 1972.

Some chemicals react vigorously with water, for example, sulphuric acid, and someone looking at the code for the first time may consider the proposed coding incorrect. Careful thought was given to these chemicals and it was felt that copious quantities of water could be used for the dilution or fire extinction because of the rapid dilution and the fact that the Brigade's personnel would be wearing full protective clothing.

(e) Master List of Chemicals

A page of the master list of chemicals shows how the code is used for various chemicals. (See Fig. 3).

(f) Conclusion

When each of 2,000 chemicals was examined with this simple emergency code, it was possible to place all of them in one of the six Groups. Hence, by siting these cyphers in a suitable eye-catching way on any chemical container, any packet or bottle, any item of plant, etc., the first men on the scene will know what to do without reference to a text-book or a card index. This code also overcomes the problem of trade secrets and trade names, because it does not give specific chemical information.

It has become apparent to the scientists who have been involved with the London Fire Brigade at many small and large chemical incidents, and where much time has been wasted in trying to find out more about the unknown item, that some code system, readily recognised by people working against time in hazardous circumstances allowing full use to be made of the facilities immediately available to .them, would be of 'advantage. This code is presented as a first attempt at producing such a system and perhaps other organ isations could make suggestions to improve its usefulness without adding significantly to its complexity. What we are basically looking for is a reaction from the Forum to the idea, so that if it is accepted, then after suitable alterations, consideration can be given to having it adopted.

Divis·ional Officer Clisby discussed the operational use of the coding system and 'HAZCHEM SCALE', saying:-

Initially, the London Fire Brigade considered a coding system to cater for an internal problem, the problem of early warning.

Let us consider a typical incident involving dangerouS substances and the time spent in getting the warning to the men at the 'inCident.

The following stages have to be undertaken:-

(i) The substance must first be identified by name by the officer-in-charge.

(ii) The name must be written down on a piece of paper known as a message form.

(Hi) The message form must he carried back to a mobile appliance equipped with radio.

(iv) The name must be given over the radio almost always in the form of phonetic alphabet, and then at O?erations Room as being that of. an eXlstmg chemIcal or synonym for an existing chemical.

(v) are held at Operations Room for 2,000 chemicals, built up as a reSUlt of incidents over the years.

(vi) The content of the card is read over the air and written down on the message form.

(vii) The message form is taken back to the officer-in-charge.

It has been proposed now that the 'Hazchem' scale could soon be made available to all offiers-in-charge, to m.ark each card held at Operations Room with the cyphers. Instead of a lengthy vocal return from Op;ratIons Room, such short instructions as 'WHISKY TWO would suffice. The saving in time is obvious.

All hazards and spoiling factors would be totally eliminated if the cyphers were clearly marked in large characters where the substance was present.

Deputy Assistant Chief Fire Officer R. Peskitt, Grad.l FireE., developed the theme by outlining the use of the system for storages in buildings as follows ;-

Other than bulk supply by road tankers, lorries and trains, much larger quantities of these hazardous chemicals than may be encountered in a road tanker can be found in store rooms and process plant in manufacturing establishments. Unfortunately there is often a singular lack of knowledge in such establishments as to the precautions that need to be taken by firemen who attend an incident involving these chemicals.

A further risk is presented by the tremendous number of 'Hazardous Loads' delivered to teaching and research establishments. Substances once found only in chemistry laboratories are now used freely by the physicist, engineer and even the geologist.

In England and Wales alone over 100,000 students in science courses are involved in laboratory practical work and something like 2,000 post graduate workers are engaged in fundamental research. At present there- is little, if any control over the materials or quantities used.

In addition there are vast numbers of scientific workers in hospitals, government and government sponsored industrial research using potentially dangerous materials for their practical work and, just as important, the disposal of the residue.

With bulk storage of liquid and other chemicals in industry, the fire dangers associated with any particular chemical involved could be readily appreciated by the provision of a single symbol affixed to the tank, store or enclosure to denote its hazard group for fire-fighting purposes.

In the case of a mixed bag of chemicals of lesser quantity the mixture would in fact be a cocktail which could be in every sense of the word. A number of symbols displayed denoting the groups would probably meet the case here. Such a situation would certainly be found in a large industrial chemical premises or central store of a U.niversity complex possessing many chemistry, physics or biology laboratories.

A large local authority, a few years ago, hazard and obtained statutory powers to the display of suitable signs and symbols outside bUlldmgs where any substance therein might involve special hazards to persons called in for fire-fighting purposes.

Finally Dr. W. T. Jones, M.D., M.F.C.M., D.P.H., DJ.H., D.e.H., entered a plea that use of the 'HAZCHEM SCALE' should be associated with the use of a centralised computer bank for recording information. He remarked ;_

'Emergencies involving unknown and suspectedly toxic chemicals are a frequent source of trouble and anxiety to firemen. The difficulties arise (a) from an inability to identify the suspected material, (b) inability to ascertain its toxicity rapidly and accurately, and (c) not knowing the appropriate action to take as a result.

The use of high speed, high capacity electronic data processing machinery, i.e., computers and associated machinery, can greatly help the solution of many of these problems in the .following ways ;-

1. Data Storage

The numerous proprietory names which obscure the true nature of chemicals involved can easily be listed, despite their large number. This can allow rapid identification of the real chemical name. Under this name can be stored all the relevant physical, chemical, toxic and human data, together with the appropriate action needed to be taken by the men on the spot over a range of different circumstances. Because of the mechanism of the electronic methods, it is possible to store vast amounts of information in a compact and easily and rapidly accessible form.

2. Data Retrieval

Speed is of the essence in this operation and this, together with its capacity, are the two main characteristics of the electronic process. In a properly organised system the recipt of 'information from the man on the spot can be rapidly translated into a set of clear, accurate and meaningful instructions on how to tackle the problem. All these reponses will need to have been worked out in advance and stored on the machine. The retrieval operation can be made simple and the presentation of information (both centrally and locally) can take various forms, e.g., written, verbal, visual, depending on the circumstances.

3. Conclusion

Although the installation of an electronic data storage and retrieval system is a lengthy and expensive business in its initial stages, it would seem to offer the only hope of providing the fireman on the spot with accurate and effective information will allow him to do his job competently and safely 10 the face of an increasing number -of haz'ardous situations with which he has to deal.

A lively discussion ensued in the afternoon. The welcome for the 'HAZCHEM' coding system was virtually unanimous. A representative of the Department of the Environment voiced the only discordant note by urging delay until a system had been agreed internationally. He anticipated that agreement might be reached on such a system within a few weeks although he recognised that there might be delay while different countries pressed their Own particular solution. The forum, however, was prepared to brook no delay and speaker after speaker urged that the Home Office should be pressed to implement the scheme domestically. The desirability of having an international system was recognised but the general feeling was that if Britain led the way by introducing a viable marking system then other countries might adopt it.

Representatives were invited to submit detailed comments on the 'HAZCHEM SCHEME' within the next month. It was announced that if these comments revealed no insuperable difficulty, the London Fire Brigade would adopt the system for internal communication on an operational basis in the way which Divisional Officer Clisby had already outlined.

HAZCHEM SCALE

Front of Scale Card FIRST AID MEASURES

Inhalation Skin Contact Remove from exposure. Give Oxygen. Apply artificial respiration if necessary. Drench with water remove contaminated clothing. Wash affected parts with plenty of water. Swallowed Eye Contact

If conscious wash out mouth with water _ give plenty of water to drink. Irrigate thoroughly with water.

Full

BA Explosive lY IS BA Non-explosive lZ IT Dry sand (Graphite)

Full protection Explosive 5W

Fog Full protection Non-explosive 5X

Full protection Explosive 2W 2P BA Explosive 5Y Full protection Non-explosive 2X 2R BA Non-explosive 5Z

BA Explosive 2Y 2S

Adn Adiponitrils

2X

Adronol Acetate 2W

Accelerene 3W Agave Fibre IZ

Acetal 2S Albo-Cabon 2Y

Acetaldehyde 2W Alcohols 2P

Acetaldehyde Oxime 3S Alcohol-Methyl 2P

Acetaldol 2T Alcohol Solvents 2P

Acetaldoxime 3S Aldehydes 2W

, Acetate IS Aldol 2T

Acetate Films IS Alkali Caustic 2R

Acetic Acid 2P Alkaloids 2X

Acetic Acid Glacial 2P Alkylamine lR

Acetic Acid Secondary Butyl Ester 3W Alkyk Phenol 2X

Acetic Aldehyde 2W Allyl Acetate 3W

Acetic Anhydride 2P Allyl Alcohol 2P

Acetic Ether 2W Allyl Aldehyde 2P

Acetoacetanilide lW Allylamine 2P

Acetoacetic Acid 2P Allyl Bromide 2X

Acetone 2P Allyl Chloride 2W

Acetone Cyanahydrin 2W Allyl Chlorocabonate lW

Acetone Oil 2P Allyl Chloroformate lW

Acetonitrile 3W Allyl Ethyl Ether 3W

Acetanilide lW Allyl Formate 3W

Acetyl Acetone 2S Allyl Iodide 2W

Acetyl Bromide 2P Allyl Trichlorosilane 3W

Acetyl Chloride 2P Aloe Fibre IT

Acetylene Dichloride 2Y Alpha Napthylamine 2X

Acetylene 2Y Alphanol 2W

Acetylene Tetrabromide 5X Alsimin 5Y Acetylene Tetrachloride 5W Aluminium and Aluminium Alloys 5Y

Acetyl Hydroperoxide 2W Aluminium Alkyls 5W

Acetyl Iodide 2P Aluminium Bromide 2R Acetyloid 2W Aluminium Carbide 2Y Acetylides 2Y Aluminium Chloride 5W Acetyl Peroxide 2W Aluminium Di-Ethyl Ethoxide 5W Acetyl Acetic Acid 2P Aluminium Di-Ethyl 5W Acids 2P Aluminium Di-Ethyl Monochloride 5W Acid 'Sodium Sulphate 2R Aluminium Dust 5Y A.C.L. 85 Powder 3X Aluminium Ethyl 5W Aconite 3X Aluminium Ferrosilicon 5Y Aconitum 2X Aluminium Laurate JO Acraldehyde 2W Aluminium Lithium Hydride 5W Acrylaldehyde 2W Aluminium Methyl 5Y Acroleic Acid 3W Aluminium Powder 5W Acrolein 2P Aluminium Propyl 5W Acrolein Acetal 3S Aluminium Resinate 0 Acrylic Acid 3W Aluminium Stearate 0 Acrylic Esters 2W Aluminium Sulpho Cyanide IX

Acrylonitrile 2W Aluminium Thiocyanate IX Aluminium Tri-Ethyl 5W