The Bulletin – October 1978

B U L L

Journal of the Association for Petroleum and Explosives Administration

Registered Office 10, STATION ROAD WITTON BIRMINGHAM 6. Telephone: 021·328 0034

Works STATION DRIVE, THORNHILL ROAD, STREETLY, SUTTON COLDFIELD, WEST MIDLANDS B74 3EN. Telephone: 021·3536288(3 Lines)

NUMBER 2. OCTOBER 1918. Published by the Association

Talking Point

Some recent items in "The Bulletin", notably "A Guide to the Guide", by 'Old Timer', in Vol. 17 No. 1 seem to have upset some officers of the Health and Safety Executive by their tone and content. I understand, in fact that a missive from. that body may be expected by us soon, giving their views and putting the record straight as they see it.

We make no apologies for throwing cats amongst the pigeons. One of the purposes of any professional journal is to raise matters of topicality and interest to its members, and if the views aired are contraversional, so be it. The columns of The Bulletin are open to anyone, within the bounds of libel and good taste, to bring to light any facet of petroleum or explosives use or administration. The HSE is as welcome to use these columns in this way as any of our members or associates. In fact, in many cases, officers of that body are themselves members of the Association. Let the debate commence!

Increase in Licence Fees

There have recently been substantial increases in licensing fees for both Petroleum and explosives stores.

The annual renewal fee for an explosives store has increased to £17.50 for initial licensing, or renewal, from £2.25 and 63p respectively. This increase took effect from 3rd April 1978.

The new rates of fees for initial licensing or renewal for Petroleum Spirit or mixtures are now reduced to three fee bands from the previous eight. These are set out below. The new fee for a transfer of licence is £2.00 (previously 50p) The fee bands are now in litres, instead of gallons as before, and for solid substances, one kilogram is to be taken as equivalent to one litre. These new fees come into being from 1st July 1978, but disappointingly, no fee has been introduced for the replacement of a licence document, following it's loss. Such a change would, I think, encourage those licensees who just cannot be bothered to look for their licence document to search a little further!

New Fees

In respect of a licence to keep a quantity not exceeding 2,500 litres £10

Exceeding 2,500 litres and not exceeding 50,000 litres £15. Exceeding 50,00 litres £30.

The Great Escape

An item of news which was passed on to me recently concerned a Fire Brigade Petroleum Officer who was being asked for his comments on drawings

Disused Tanks Working Party

Following much discussion at a recent meeting of the Eastern Branch of the Association on the various problems inherent in making safe disused Petroleum Spirit tanks, and the means of solving these problems, it was decided to set up a working party drawn from authorities in the Anglian area and meeting under the wing of the Eastern branch.

The inaugural meeting of this working party was on Wednesday 21st June 1978 at the Consumer Protection Department .• Great Shelford, Cambridgeshire, where representatives of Beds C.C., Cambs C.C., Greater London Council., Herts C.C., Lincolnshire C.C. and Norfolk C.C. attended. Mr J.J. Thompson, G.L.C., was elected to the chair, and a frank and useful exchange of views and information took place.

The minutes of the meeting have been circulated amongst employing authorities, and a further meeting is to be called to discuss the reactions of local authorities and, hopefully to proceed towards a uniform standard of "making safe", at least within the Eastern branch area.

Tanker Marking Regs soon

The Chairman of the Health anti:,afety Commission expet::ts to propose new road tanker labelling regulations shortly. Work on comprehensive general regulations governing the transport of dangerous substances by road is advancing.

This was reported by Transport UnderSecretary John Horam in a Commons reply recently.

(From Motor Transport July 14th

ACC, the Government, and burst pipelines

More stringent testing and inspection of pipelines and more information about where they are located were called for recently by the Association of County for a proposed police station building, incorporating a Petroleum Spirit storage installation. After perusing the plans This follows a study by the ACC's Consumer for some moments, the officer drew the Services Committee into the aftermath of attention of the Architect who was with an incident in Hampshire at the end of him to the cell block, which was in close last year when the 64 mile long pipeline proximity to the petrol tank, and commented,from Fawley to Gatwick burst open, spilling with his tongue firmly in his cheek, that 70,000 gallons of oil on to adjoining fields, the means of escape from the block did not properties and part of the estuary of the seem adequate! River Hamble.

'County Councils are very much concerned with this in their emergency planning procedures and measures to deal with oil pollution' said Mr Norman Best, Chairman of the Association's Consumer Services Committee. 'Although they will have some of the information in their capacity as local highway authorities, where these pipes cross county roads, a large number of these pipelines have been installed for many years and there needs to be a comprehensive, readily available list for each county.'

information and without the extra safeguards we're calling for, counties are in a very vulnerable position'.

The ACC will be placing all these points before the Departments of Environment and Energy.

(Press Release from the ACC)

NEW SECRETARY SOUGHT FOR ASSOCIATION

John Frid, Honorary·Secretary of our association for the past 9 years, has announced his decision not to stand for re-election to the office at the Mt Best (who is also a member of Hampshire next A.G.M. in April 1979. County Council), added 'We are also seeking Through his wealth of knowledge on assurances that existing controls covering all aspects of petroleum, and his the construction, operation and maintenance great loyalty and enthusiasm for the of these pipelines are working properly. Not A,.P.E.A. from its inception many years only oil is involved high pressure gas ago as the M.P.A.A.G., John has made pipes and others run for long distances, the office of national secretary sometimes extending from one side of the particularly his own. He will be a country to the other. Without this hard act to follow!

NEW PUBLICATIONS FROM THE

VISCOSITY INDEX OF PETROLEUM PRODUCTS

BS 4459 Method for calculating viscosity index of petroleum products and lubricants from kinematic viscosity specifies two procedures for calculating the viscosities index of petroleum products and related materials from their kinematic viscosities at 40 0 C and 1000C. This standard, now revised, was first published in 1969 based on kinematic viscosity at 37.So C and 9S.9 0 C. Agreement was reached in the ISO technical committee on petroleum products for the use of -40 0 C, 400C and 1000C as reference temperatures for viscosity determination, and ISO 2909 was prepared to provide for the calculation of viscosity index (VI) from viscosities determined at 40 0 C and 1000C. The new edition of BS 4459 is technicall equivalent to ISO 2909. Y

DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION OF FIXED OFFSHORE STRUCTURES

Oil discoveries in the North Sea have encouraged rapid developments in design and construction of fixed offshore structures in the UK. The need for guidance in this t· n field has led the British Standards Institu to consider preparing a standard, and DD 55 Fixed offshore structures, which has now been published, goes a long way towards providing the wide range of practical information required by those involved . t . in designing, constructing and these structures, until it is possible for a comprehensive Code of Practice to be t realised. Offered as a Draft for Developmen (DD) rather than a British Standard COded t· ns r·ecommen a of Practice, the document based on the advice of practising Th 1 1 . t ho have made e ea eu has been developed th t and on the work of exper s w h so a . t d subjects suc the values for VI calculated from vis ·t. special studies of e . 4 0 COS1 1es 1 determined at 0 C and 1000C are virtuall as meteorology and oceano ogy, . 1 the same as those obtained from the loading materials behaviour and analyt1ca 37.80 c and 98.90 C) in the Comments and criticisms from fIrst ed1tIon. the industries concerned will enable BSI to re-issue it as a British Standard in The new edition of BS 4459 price £3 20 ' . , may be obtained from BSI Sales Department, 101 due course. Pentonville Road, London Ni 9ND.

In preparing the Draft, the aims of the also likely to be applicable to features committee were to provide information for the of a much wider range of structures. design and construction of fixed offshore structures, bearing in mind recent develop- BDDS 55'lPrice £10.30, may be obtained from . . . I Sa es Department 101, Pentonville ments and posslble future requlrements, Whl1st R d L ' . .. oa, ondon NI 9ND. ldentlfYlng areas where research and development were needed. In addition, harmonization with European and international standards work was considered. It was also resolved that it would be possible to use the DD in conjunction with the Department of Energy's existing publication Offshore installations guidance on design and construction, and steps were taken to avoid inconsistency between the two, to enable technical material adequately covered in the new BSI Draft to be omitted from future versions of the earlier publication. DD 55 encompasses a wide variety 'of aspects of offshore structures, reflecting the range of work involved. Recommendations are given for design, construction, sea operations and maintenance. Equipment for fixed offshore installations is not covered except in cases where proper structural provision should be made for it. Although concerned primarily with noncomplaint structures associated with the offshore oil and gas industry, DD 55 is

MEASUREMENT OF PETROLEUM LIQUIDS AND GASES

The British Standards Institution has recently published BS 5579 Standard reference conditions for measurement of petroleum liquids and gases. This standard which is based on the International Rtandard ISO 5024, sets out conditions of temperature, pressure and humidity for petroleum measurement purposes.

The standard differs from its international counterpart in that it includes the reference condition for humidity in connection with the measurement of gases. This is normal in the United Kingdom, but is not accepted in certain other countries and is therefore omitted from ISO 5024.

BS 5579, price 90p may be obtained from BSI Sales Department, 101, Pentonville Road, London NI 9ND.

PETROLEUM ADMINISTRATION

A talk given by Dr Cecil Johnstone, H.M Inspector of Explosives, Health and Safety Executive, to the Annual

"Firstly I would like to say how pleased I am to be invited to give a talk to your Association and I that discussion after my talk wll1 be 11vely and informative to me because you have uch better understanding of the a m d t t' difficulties of petroleum a mlnlS ra 10n in the field than those of use at headquarters.

troduce the subject I will give resume of the way things or shall I say happened prior to 1974. Up to that date the Exp10s1ves t rat e administered the Petroleum Inspec 0 Legislation from central within the Home Office. Whl1e numerous district councils looked after (or d'dn't as the case may be) the local The last guidance to

General Meeting of the Association, at Birmingham, on Wednesday 19th April 1978.

local authorities on petroleum was in 1968 when the model codes for construction and licensing of stores, filling stations, distribution depots and major installations were published.

With the re-organisation of local authorities in April 1974 the top tier county and metropoliton councils took over the administration of petroleum legislation. There was no coercion from central government on the new councils as to what departments of the local authority should take the responsibility for the petroleum administration and as it turned out there was about a 50 50 split between Fire Authorities and Consumer Protection. Irrespective of which departments were given the responsibility it would

appear to me that the general outcome was to advise the Councils to adopt as conditions of licence those that were recommended in the 1968 Model Code. Once this was done the officers in the field in many cases found that they could not implement discretionary function outlined in the preamble to the mobel codes with regard to existing installations. This resulted in an increased number of appeals to the Secretary of State from agrieved licencees. Prior to the change of local authority function there were about 5 to 8 appeals per year but in the three years 1975, 1976 and 1977 there were 117 appeals made, i.e. approximately 40 appeals per year which is a tremendous increase. Can I digress for a moment. Just after the change of local authority functions the Health and Safety at Work Act came into being. The central administration of the petroleum acts were transferred from the Home Office to the Health and Safety Executive as a result of the explosives inspectorate becoming part of this new organisation. then there was a split in functions within the Health and Safety Executive transport of dangerous goods (including petroleum) being administered by Hazardous Substances Division Group A, while storage of inflammable sUbstances (including petroleum) being administered by Hazardous Substances Division Group B. Only one of the original explosives inspectors (myself) was attached to Group B to give advice on the policy of storage of petroleum.

Prior to the Health and Safety at Work Act petroleum appeals were made to the Home Secretary who directed one of his department i.e. an explosives inspector to conduct an enquiry. After the H.S.W. Act began to operate appeals were directed to the Secretary of State for Employment to whom the Health amd Safety Executive is accountable. Arrangements were then made that he would get his technical advice for Hazardous Substances Division Group B and consequently he has appointed me (separately for each appeal) to conduct the enquirl.' es. Now to repeat myself, since January 1975 to December 1977 117 appeals were lodged but fortunately for me 34 of them were withdrawn i.e. 30%. The majority of the remaining appeals emanated from only 6 authorities. Odd ones and twos came from other authorities and many authorities have

had no appeals against their decisions. The only deduction I can make from these statistics is that the majority of local authorities are taking note of the discretionary aspect as given in the preamble to the model code and assessed sub standard· filling stations on their individual merits. You will all know that the Health and Safety Executive has arranged a confere!lcp. O!l the and enforcement of the licensing provisions of the Pet. (Con.) Act 1928 to which have been invited one or two members from every County and Metropolitan Council in the U.K. in the hope that a certain amount of harmonisation of outlook may evolve apart from enlightening the central body of control, of the various councils difficulties. Since I have been in so many appeal enquiries over the past 3 years some of the factors which I take into consideration informing my recommendations to the Secretary of State may be of interest to you: Roadway Conditions:-

Premises in Vicinity:-

Frequency:-

Frequency:Supervision:-

Rural of Urban; width; traffic density; traffic lights- Pedestrian density; water gullies; shopping areas; slopes of roads. occupied as offices, shops or dwelling houses, especially above premises; public houses (cellars); capital value (although not a safety factor) of tanker visits; amounts delivered re venting of tanks. of vehicle refuelling:private use or for resale to public. behaviour of licensee with respect- to housekeeping, i.e. safe handling of other imflammables; like lihood of tenancy termination e.g. retiral no transfer.

Possible remedial alterations and special conditions attached to licence".

NEWS FROM THE HEALTH AN D SAFETY EXECUTIVE

Statutory Labelling Scheme for Dangerous Chemicals Approved

Suppliers of any of about 800 dangerous chemicals mostly used in industry, but some used in the home will be legally obliged to put warning labels on their containers, under Regulations laid before Parliament recently. Containers must also be properly designed, constructed and secured to prevent accidental spillage during normal use.

The Regulations* drawn up by the Health and Safety Commission and made jointly by the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Employment, Mr John Grant, and the Minister of State for Prices and Consumer Protection, Mr John Fraser, implement within Great Britain an EEC Directive on the packaging and labelling of dangerous substances.

They have been prepared in consultation with the TUC, CBI, trade and consumer organisations, and are the first step towards establishing a standardised scheme the EEC for the labelling of all hazardous substances. Implementation will be in two stages according to container size. Suppliers have until September 1, 1978 to put labels on containers with a capacity of 200 litres or more and, until March 1, 1979 on containers with a capacity of less than 200 litres.

The basic idea of the scheme which covers such chemicals as acetaldehyde, concentrated nitric acid, hydrofluric acid, and mercury compounds, is that byreading a simple label the user of a listed substance will be able to gain quick but important guidance on its main dangers and how to handle and use it safely.

*The Packaging and Labelling of Dangerous Substances Regulations (SI 1978 No. 209), HMSO, price £1.00, plus postage.

Label Composition

The principal feature of a label is a pictorial symbol accompanied by a key word. A symbol shows, where possible, thelikely dangers of the chemical and is printed in back on a bright orange/ yellow background so that it stands out. Every chemical, listed in a Schedule to the Regulations, is classified according to the hazard or hazards it presents: explosive, highly flammable, toxic, corrosive, flammable, oxidizing, irritant and harmful. Each hazard category has its own symbol: an exploding

bomb for explosive substances; a flame over a circle for oxidizing substances; a skull and crossbones for toxic substances; a flame for highly flammable substances; a hand and piece of metal being dissolved by liquid dropping from two test tubes for corrosive substances, and a St Andrews Cross for harmful irritant substances.

In addition the Regulations generally require each label to carry: one or more Risk Phrases spelling out in more detail the main dangers, 'Very toxic in contact with the skin' or 'Reacts very violently with water'; one or more Safety Phrases givinv, advice on sensible safety precautions, e.g. 'Wear suitable protective clothing' or 'Never add water to this product': the name of the chemical and name and address of the supplier or manufacturer which may assist doctors or first-aid staff in the event of an accident.

The responsibility under the Regulations for labelling the containers will rest with the Supplier. Manufacturers or importers will be required to attach labels before supplying directly to other manufacturers or before wholesale or retail outlets. Wholesalers and retailers will still have an to ensure that products are correctly labelled before selling them to users, but in practice it is expected that manufacturers' labels will remain on containers. Wholesalers or retailers who re-package must attach their own labels.

Minimum sizes are specified for the labels depending on container capacity but there will be room for manufacturers to put brand names and other information elsewhere on the container. Where a substance is required to be labelled under both these Regulations and under existing transport rules, allowance is made for a single label to be used which shows the requirements of the transport rules and certain provisions of the new Regulations.

Enforcement of the Regulations will generally be carried out by health and safety inspectors e.g. Factory Inspectors, of the Health and Safety Executive (the HSC's operational arm). However, in the case of shops and registered

pharmacies the Regulations will be enforced by local authority Weights and Measures Inspectors and the Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain

The following is a list of some of the chemicals which are covered by the Regulations and used in the home:

sodium hydroxide, anhydrous (caustic soda for cleaning drains)

formic acid (kettle descaler) sodium chlorate (weed killer) sodium hypochlorite (bleach)

EEC Directive

The Packaging and Labelling of Dangerous Substances Regulations implement within Great Britain an EEC Directive which is binding on all nine Member States. The Directive, incorporating the new type of label, applies only to those substances listed in the Regulations. The EEC intends however to gradually extend this form of labelling to products which contain only a proportion of one or more of the dangerous chemicals.

Since the labelling of all dangerous substances is an enormous undertaking, groups of products are being dealt with through individual Council Directives. A directive dealing with paints, varnishes, adhesives and inks was recently approved and Member States have two years to introduce legislation to implement it. Further Directives all cover pesticides, solvents and a wide range of household products such as disinfectants and cleaning agents, some of which can be dangerous in the home if not used properly.

*The Packaging and Labelling of Dangerous Substances Regulations (SI 1978 No. 209), HMSO, price £1.00, plus postage.

NEW REGULATIONS PROPOSED ON IMPORTATION OF COMPRESSED ACETYLENE

Draft regulations have been . 1ssued (copy attached by the Health and Safety Commissior. concerning the importation of compressed acetylene.

The proposals are intended to prov1'd e for the of acetylene (which at present 1S prohibited except under a procedure requiring an order Signed by the Secretary of State for Employment) to be controlled in the same way as other explosives, by licence issued by the Health and Safety Executive.

Fees would be determined in the same way as those applying to explosives generally. For the importation of acetylene these would, under the proposals, be in the region of £14.00.

The Health and Safety Executive are requesting comments on the draft regulations from all interested parties, the period for consultation ending on 23rd June 1978.

Copies of the draft regulations may be obtained from: Mr N.P.W. Watson, HSD A2, Health and Safety Executive, Baynards House, 1, Chepstow Place, London W2 4 TF.

HEALTH & SAFETY

Draft Compressed Acetylene Regulations 1978

Proposals for Regulations to be made under sections 15(1), (2) and (3) and 43 (2) of, and paragraphs 2 and 4 of Schedule 3 to, the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 (a), as amended by section 116 of, and paragraph 6 of Schedule 15 to, the Employment Protection Act 1975 (b).

Citation, commencement and interpretation

1. (1) These Regulations may be cited as the Compressed Acetylene Regulations 1978 and shall come into operation on

(2) The Interpretation Act l889(c) shall apply for the interpretation of these Regulations as it applies for the interpretation of an Act of Parliament.

Importation of compressed acetylene

2. The provisions of section to (e)of the Explosives Act l875(d) relate to the importation of explosives under licence) shall apply to the importation of compressed acetylene into the United Kingdom as they apply to the importation of an explosive; and for this purpose "compressed acetylene" means acetylene subject to a pressure exceeding 0.62 bar above pressure.

3. Order in Council No. 30 dated 2nd February 1937(e), as amended (f), shall not apply to any acetylene in respect of which a licence has been issued by virtue of Regulation 2 of these Regulations so long as it remains in the container in which it is imported.

4. A fee £12 shall be payable to the Health and Executive on the issue each licence granted by virtue of Regulation 2 above.

(a) 1974 c.37. (b) 1975 c.7l (c) 1889 c.63 (d) 1875 c.17 (e) S.R.&O 1937/54(Rev.VII, p.66: 1973, p.729). S.R.&O 1947/805 (1947 I p.7l7).

STATUTORY NOTIFICATION OF HAZARDOUS INSTALLATIONS PROPOSED

The statutory potentially hazardous installations to the Health and Safety Executive is proposed in regulations published today by the Health and Commission in a Consultative document*

The proposed regulations arise from the First Report the Advisory Committee on Major Hazards** They would enable the Health and Safety Executive (the Commission's operational arm) for the time to acquire about the activities of installations holding significant quantities of specified hazardous sUbstances and to build up a complete picture of the number of potentially hazardous installations in Britain. The regulations would apply to installations, whether existing or proposed, where speicified quantities .of the substances concerned are stored, manufactured, processed or used. These provisions would also include the transfer substances by pipeline and handling operations in the course road, rail or sea transport.

The proposed regulations set out the substances concerned, the quantities held which would call for and the details what would be included in the notification.

On premises where there are substances in quantities ten times the notifiable level, a nazara survey would be required. This would include such details as diagrams of any plant containing more than the notifiable quantity of any hazardous substance; factors tha"t could cause a catastrophic release of energy or of the substance notified and the measures taken to prevent or control this; factors that could cause a smaller but continuing release of the substances notified; and the measures taken to prevent or control such releases.

The hazard survey and any more detailed assessment, 1I,i. ich may be called for in circumstances of exceptional risk, would enable the Executive to identify those installations which could pose a threat to safety, and also to consider any enforcement action that might be necessary.

The proposed regulations would not apply to any notifiable activities at sites licensed under the Explosives Act 1875; to any vehicle, vessel, aircraft or hovercraft which is being used for transporting the substances, nor to any radio-active substance.

A draft guidance note, which is part of the document, sets out the framework for the carrying out of hazard surveys.

* "'Draft Hazardous Installations (Notification and Survey) Regulations," HMSO 50p

** "Advisory Com.rnittee on Major Hazards First Report." HMSO £1.00.

CANVEY ISLAND REPORT RECOMMENDATIONS FOR IMPROVEMENTS TO EXISTING AND PLANNED INSTALLATIONS WOULD CUT EXISTING RISK

An investigation of the risks to the people living on and around Canvey Island from existing and proposed industrial activities, the report of which was published recently shows that the picture that emerges should not cause fear and worry amongst people living in the area. The most likely outcome is that nothing should happen in these installations which will hurt anyone outside them. However, the report adds that steps can and should be taken to further reduce the chances major accidents in the installations. If all the recommendations made in the report are carried out, even though additional refineries were authorised, the risk the industrial activities in the area would be substantially reduced, it says.

The report* consists of two selfcontained parts. Part One has been prepared by the Health and Safety E t · stigatl. on , xecu l.ve as a summary of the l.nve its main results, and suggested action to ensure improvements. Part Two, together with its many appendices, is the detailed technical report of the investigating team, and is based on

information about the existing and proposed installations in the area known to the team up to December 31, 1977. The investigation was carried out by a small team of experts mainly. from the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority's Safety and Reliability Directorate.

The Health and Safety Commission asked the HSE, their operational arm, to carry out the investigation after a request from the Secretaries of State for the Environment and Employment. This followed the publication by the Department of the Environment of the report of an exploratory public inquiry into the desirability of revoking the planning permission given in 1973 to United Refineries Ltd to build an oil refinery on the island. The report contained a recommendation by one of the technical assessors that a study of the risks in the area should be made.

The Executive's report asks for improvements both to existing plant and proposed installations which woula substantially reduce the chances of a major accident or minimise the consequences should one occur. The necessary expenditure by the operators is reasonable in relation to the substantial reduction in risk which would be secured, it says. Work has already started on implementing some of the recommendations, with inspectors putting the improvements to the firms concerned. They will, if necessary, .use their enforcement nowers to require the improvements.

"We consider that our prinCiple should be not to permit any new proposals to introduce significant additional risks of a major incident which would injure people. We would propose to use our own powers in the Executive to this end and recommend that other controlling authorities should do the same," say the Executive in a letter of submission of the report to the Health and Safety Commission.

Among the main recommendations and findings of the report are:

provided the recommended improvements are made to the eXisting plant, the Executive say that they do not consider the situation to be such that any of the existing installations should now be required to shut down;

proposed major developments in the area (for an extension to existing

refining facilities for Mobil Oil Co Ltd and for new refineries for Occidental Refineries Ltd., and United Refineries Ltd) , would further add to the risk, but it is the view of the Executive that changes can be made which would eliminate most of the addi tional risks from the propos'als and "therefore we could proffer no objection to their construction on health and safety grounds;"

while some incidents involving intercations are foreseeable, the analysis does not suggest there is a possibility for a "domino" effect, one incident progressively setting off a series of hazardous events;

the eight knot speed limit should be strictly enforced in the Thames estuary by the Port of London Authority to prevent or minimise the effects of ships leaded with toxic or flammable substances being involved in a collision;

for some emergencies an additional road from the east of the island could be beneficial, but in the majority of emergencies people might be better advised to stay indoors rather than attempt to leave.

The improvements called for by the Executive· are listed in the report along with a number of potential hazards it identifies requiring very thorough assessment by the firms concerned.

Numerical Assessment of Risks

Numerical assessments of risk are made in the report and are expressed as chances a year of an individual being killed (individual risk) and of killing more than 10 people at a time ("societal" risk). Different assessments of the individual risks for seven regions in the area are contained in an annexe. A further annexe examines the societal risk of a range of accidents at the existing and proposed installations.

The report through a long and complex series of analyses concludes that the chance of a person in Canvey and Stanford-le-Hope being killed as a consequence of a major accident at existing installations is on. averaP.'e about the same as the average risk shared by every person in the 25-34 age group in this country in any one year he could die from natural causes. This level of risk, of about

5 chances in 10,000 a year, would be reduced by about two thirds if all the improvements asked for in the report were adopted at existing and proposed plant.

The report acknowledges that its figures may be an overestimate of the chances of serious accidents occurring as it feels it proper in an investigation of this kind to err on the side of caution. It adds: "All of the accidents discussed in this report are theoretically conceivable, and some have occurred, although never anywhere in the world in such a way as to result in the large numbers of casualties judged to be possible by the investigating team."

Proposed Developments.

The report looks at three proposals for further refining facilities in the area. In its view the revised proposals for the Mobil extension not result in any significant increase in risk to persons in the area."

On the accidental and United Refineries Ltd proposals the report says: "Provided the companies were to build their plants in accordance with our requirements and made alternative arrangements for trans-shipment of the LPG (Liquified Petroleum Gas), we consider that the building of the new refineries would not result in a significant additional risk to the residents of Canvey Island and therefore we could proffer no objection to their construction on health and safety grounds,"

First Investigation of its Kind

The investigation was unique, the first of its kind in the UK and probably in the world, says the report. It began in April 1976 and was expected to be completed by the of that year. In fact the task of the investigating team proved to be far more complex than had been expected and it was not until February 1978 that the work was sufficiently comprehensive for the renort to be prepared.

Further work needs to be carried out for there remain some uncertainties in the assessment. Some of the issues raised by the investigation have national if not international implications. The expertise of no less than 30 engineers, chemists and

other specialists had been utilised at various stages of the appraisal and the cost of the investigation was about £400,000.

"During the preliminary visits to the premises selected for assessment the investigating team were reassured to find that where hazardous materials were being processed, handled or stored, the mangements were generally very responsive to matters of operational safety. Where relevant Codes of Practice were available these had been taken into account in the design and construction of plant and facilities," says the report.

It adds: "However, these visits also established that none of the companies concerned had made a systematic attempt to examine and document those few potentially serious events which might cause accidents among people in the surrounding community."

The Commission, in submitting their report to Ministers, stress that the assessments of activities at any of the sites concerned cannot be applied directly to similar installations or areas elsewhere in the United Kingdom because so much is dependent on individual circumstances and variations in topography, weather, process and layout.

Dealing with the investigation's general approach, the Commission point out the Safety and Reliability Directorate's special techniques of hazard evaluation entailed considering every theoretically possible accident, however unlikely, together with the range of casualties that could possibly result. In addition, the investigating team had been instructed by the Executive to be as realistic as possible in its appraisal and in cases of doubt not to err on the side of optimism. It was recognised that this approach could be controversial and that the results could be misunderstood but it was accepted that this was the most meaningful way of comparing the different risks involved.

*Canvey: "An investigation of Potential Hazards from operations in the Canvey/ Thurrock area". Part One: "A summary by the Health and Safety Executive", Part Two: "Report of the Investigating Team". Part One is available from HMSO price £1; also available are Parts One and Two together, price £10.

Diversity of problems

Seventy-four accidents (under explosives legislation not necessarily involving personal injury) were reported to HM Explosives Inspectorate during 1976, an increase of 16 over the previous year's figure, states Mr Frank Ireland, HM Chief Inspector of Explosives, in his section of a recent report* He stresses that several of the accidents would probably have been avoided if the recognised operating procedures had been strictly followed. Six people died in 1976 in accidents involving explosives and a further 47 were injured.

These figures include accidents involving the manufacture of fireworks; however, they do not include their use where the total remained high although there has been a steady decrease over the past five years. A total of 685 were injured during the four week period around Guy Fawkes night in 1976, of whom 362 were under 13 years old and a further 147 under 16. The number of thefts remained high, with explosives stolen on 173 occasions

Most of these were, however, railway fog signals and other small items. Summaries of accidents demonstrate the widely diverse problems in the field of interest of the Explosives Inspectorate, ranging from the crash on the M6 motorway which resulted in hydrogen from two cracked cylinders catching fire, to two incidents during re-enactments of historical battles when blackpowder (gunpowder) was ignited prematurely and five people were injured.

The report, which is illustrated, has three appendices with statistical tables relating to the Factory Inspectorate including accident statistics, prosecutions, improvement and prohibition notices; the Railway Inspectorate including accident statistics; and the Explosives Inspectorate, including tables on fireworks injuries, import of explosives, explosives accidents, and proceedings involving the Inspectorate.

* Health and Safety in manufacturing and service industries 1976. From HMSO £2.50 plus postage.

BOOK

REVIE\I\'

books of interest to the petroleum officer are few and far between. With this in mind I make no apology for dealing with some volumes which have been published during the last few years and may have previously escaped a mention.

This first book is b titled "the safe Use of electronics In ha d 1 . zar ous ocatlons" and was publ -h in 1971. Its author R JlS ed back Redd, ng recognised as the lead' IS lng authorit on the subject of intr" y d lnSlcally safe eSlgn.

A truism used to introduce the chapter states that "accid opening ents are the invasion of the unprep d " are by the unexpected. The author then d emon-strates how the concept of l·nt· . rlnSlC safety IS utIlIsed to minimise the

BY BOOKWORM

chance of ignition by electrical equipment.

There are chapters covering the history and development, design. testing, PASEEFA certification, applications and installation. Other chapters deal in detail with Zener diode barriers and other safety techniques The Zener barrier is of central importance, limiting as it does the level of power which can enter a danger area It is of course used extensively in circuits for the modern electronic pumps as well as in instrumentation. measuring and remote control systems in areas where fire and explosion risks exist in industry

I have found the book to be most readable and of immense value in widening my knowledge of a topic on which I am far from expert. It is published by McGraw-Hi 11 at £3.80

By Mr. M.R. Jones, Area Petroleum Officer, Suffolk County Council.

This item appears by permission of Mr J. McD. Halliday, F.I.T.S.A., F.inst. Pet., County Trading Standards Officer, Suffolk.

The following are short notes on two appeals heard by the Health and Safety Executive in the person of Dr. C. Johnstone, H.M. Inspector of Health and Safety, against refusals by Suffolk County Council, in the first case to renew a licence, and in the second to transfer/renew a petroleum spirit storage licence.

Case one involved premises which consisted of a coach operators offices in a two storey terraced brick building which was flanked on one side by an antique shop and the other by dwelling houses.

Two storage tanks (500 and 300 gallons respectively) were situated

in the basement of the building directly underneath the front office over which was the main office. The tanks were about 2 feet apart and each was encased in concrete with a brick retaining wall. The basement carried the property's main service cables, etc., and there was about 18 inches between the top of the fill/dip pipes and the basement roof. All the floors were of timber construction. The tanks had been installed in about 1930 and had been regularly and successfully pressure tested until 1970 When for some unknown reason it was decided not to pressure test them anymore.

EE antique shop EE

The sketch will give some idea of the front of the property which was situated in a village through which passes a main trunk road carrying a great deal of heavy goods traffic, and in the summer a heavy load of holiday traffic. The pavement outside the premises is about 6 feet wide, the road standard single carriageway with parking allowed on the opposite side of the road.

The licence renewal was refused on the following grounds.

"The site should not be licensed because of the unacceptable hazard to passers-by on the footpath, and to users of the offices, both staff and members of the public, created by the storage and means of delivery into and from storage, by virtue of the location of the tanks and pumps. The defects of the site cannot be cured within the limits of any reasonable conditions which could be imposed."

Nine months after the appeal was lodged it was heard, and two months later both parties were informed that the appeal had been disallowed. The following are some of Dr Johnstone's comments regarding the site.

" although the siting of the petrol pumps for the re-fuelling of cars at the kerbside does not permit effective enforcement of Part 1 of the Home Office Model Code; the risk is considered th be minimal in this case where probably only 20-25 vehicles are refuelled each week."

"However the possibility of passing vehicles colliding with vehicles being refuelled, or the pumps, cannot be ruled out."

"The provision of regulation 16(5) and (6) of the Petroleum Spirit (Conveyance by Road) Regulations 1957 would be difficult to enforce."

"Possibili ty of a vehicle colliding with a road tanker was not a major factor in determining the appeal: as deliveries are only received every two months."

"The siting of the storage tanks is a potential source of danger."

"The siting of the vent pipes could be dangerous."

The licensee was reluctant to make the installation safe and an order under the Public Health Act 1961 was served. Subsequently the tanks were filled with diesel.

STORES

The second appeal involved a petrol t"illing station and garage premises which were situated in a small town, through which passed a fairly busy A class road.

The location of the site was soon after a sharp right hand bend in a very narrow part of the main street and consisted of a double fronted showroom (in which were four, 500 gallon underground storage tanks). In front of which were four dispensing pumps fitted with swing arm delivery pipes. Two of the tanks were fitted with off-set fill pipes which protruded at low level through the front of the showroom necessitating the road tanker (which visited the site weekly), to stand in the roadway when the tanks were being filled. Vehicles being re-fuelled had to stand in the roadway. There was a narrow pavement in front of the premises.

There was no drainage system other than the public surface water drainage system, and the site was such that only complete re-building would appear capable of eradicating the hazards.

A notification of intent to refuse to renew the licence after 31st December 1979 was sent to the previous site owner on 1st September 1976, he was also notified that in the meantime the licence would not be transferred to any other occupant. However, the premises were sold in August 1977 to a person who owned another garage in the same town, at which there were similar problems and this person had also been sent a similar letter of intent in September 1976.

The original owner did not notify this Authority of a change of ownership (as required by his licence), and was subsequently prosecuted, also the new owner did not approach this Authority prior to his purchase of the premises in question.

The refusal to transfer/renew the licence was as fo11ows:-

1. Owing to the position of the pumps, vehicles re-fuelling have to stand on the roadway.

2. Owing to the position of the tanks the road tanker has to stand on the roadway.

3. Owing to the position of the premises, in a narrow street, after a sharp bend, vehicles standing on the roadway could create a potential hazard.

4. No drainage system

5. Small tanks necessitating frequent replenishment.

6. Only complete rebuilding would solve the inherent potential hazards and the local Planning Authority seems unlikely to approve such an application.

7. Knowledge, prior to purchase, of licensing Authority's intentions regarding the premises.

Three months after the appeal was lodged it was heard, and five months later both parties were advised that the appeal had been disallowed for the following reasons.

"Serious potential hazard due to position of premises and the fact that vehicles have to stand on the roadway."

"Danger of vapour from tanks and filling tanks in the building also the two tanks with off-set filling pipes have dip/fill openings in the manhole chambers. "

"Concern that the licensee has no control over members of the public using the footpath."

"Concern regarding the age of the tanks and the possibility of leakages. "

"Frequency of road tanker visits."

"The degree of risk involved is unacceptable for licensing purposes."

(At the time of the site inspection a road tanker was at the site making a de 1 i ve ry) .

The licensee has subsequently agreed to make the installation safe to this Authority's satisfaction.

In both cases short term licences (3 month duration) were granted to enable the premises to operate more or less normally until the results of the "ppeals were known.

Flash Fry

The tenant of a flat in Hackney used an empty cooking oil container for keeping petrol in the larder. While he was absent a friend living with him felt the pangs of hunger and used some of the contents of the container to fry some bacon on a gas stove. The rashers were well and truly fried in the fire which ensued; luckily the friend's own bacon was saved. The kitchen was badly damaged.

Four Star chips

An Ilford resident took a can of petrol out of the boot of his car before taking the car into a garage for servicing and put the can in the conservatory. A can of cooking oil was also kept in the conservatory. The resident's elderly mother regrettably used the the petrol to top up the oil in the pan whilst cooking chips on a gas cooker. She dropped the can and ran out of the . house when the petrol ignited. The old lady was severely shaken, but otherwise unhurt. The petrol can was destroyed in the blaze which damaged the whole of the ground floor and a part of the upper floor of the dwelling.

Warehouse fire

Nine cylinders of liquefied petroleum were involved in a warehouse fire 1n Hounslow. The bronze on/off 1 • • • Vt>. ve ass l emb11es on eight of the cylinders me ted and allowed gas t h . . 0 escape' on t e rema1n1ng cylinder the '. did not melt and th' assembly e cy11nder expioded. It apPdars that the been adapted to cy11nders had not

aCCord W'th present policy of f't . 1 the supplier's relief valves. pressure

Unprotected lead lamp

A mechanic was quick enou h t . . g 0 escape inJury by rol11ng clear when t pe rol dripped on to an unprotected lead lamp while he was removing drained petrol tank from a small workshop in Mi tcham.

a partially car in a The lamp

and vapour was ignited by the exposed filements. During the ensuing fire the car, workshop windows and roof and garage equipment dama'ged.

Hot Pot

The Brigade was called to a fire in a Silverson mixing machine at extensive licensed industrial premises in Sidcup.

The mixer, containing rubber and 500 gallons of benzine suffered from an ·overheated bearing and it is thought that the bearing temperature (indicated by the colour tempering of the metal) reached the ignition temperature of benzine causing stray benzine vapour to catch fire.

No one was hurt and only minor damage was suffered.

Lost Production

An i tern in Volume 17 No. 1 gave information on a leak of petroleum spirit from fractured pipe lines at a Dagenham factory. Less than three months later one of these lines failed again; this time an estimated 500 gallons leaked into the assembly building. At one point the spirit was leaking into a subway exit under the building. The senior inspector for the district was notified of the incident on a Friday morning and consequently had a hectic week-end clearing the matter up. Conditions in the building were such that the assembly line had to be stopped and the lost production for two shifts.

Work on the installation of a new vehicle charging system at the factory has been proceeding at a leisurely pace for some months. Thankfully it is now completed and one hopes that an incident of this kind will not be repeated, at least not at this factory!

South African enquiry

A pipeline beneath the floor of a car assembly plant in South Africa and carrying petrol from a storage tank to the end of the assembly line developed a leak. As a result, the representatives of the London-based insurer of the assembly plant telephoned the Petroleum Branch

Reproduced below are items tEken from the London Fire Brigade Petroleum Branch Information

asking for advice on the precautions to be taken when excavating to find the fault in the line.

The caller was informed that this was a matter for the controlling authority in South Africa. However, he was anxious to know what should be done on the grounds of safety and was advised that it would be both easier and safer to flush and seal off· the line and install another one. At the same time advice was given as to safety measures if it was decided to excavate.

A subsequent telephone call was received saying that a new line and storage tank were being installed.

Leak from rail tanker

A train comprising petrol tankers was halted on Old Oak Common sidings when sparks were seen coming from one of the wagons. The train was inspected and staff found a broken spring. As a precautionary measure inspection was continued and petrol was seen leaking from a tielivery pipe on a wagon. The wagon was isolated pending the arrival of a fitter tp check the valves. The senior inspector attending the incident advised against any tampering with the valve before the fitter arrived in case such action exacerbated the danger.

The fitter found no fault with the valves. It would appear that grit or dirt may have prevented the delivery valve closing properly, allowing petrol to pass into the delivery pipe from which petrol leaked through a blanking-off cap. The delivery pipe was drained and re-capped and the wagon proceeded safely on the rails.

Helpful drawings

Drainage drawings obtained from a London borough proved useful in establishing the cause of smells of petrol permeating houses in Chingford. At first it was thought that the smells were caused by petrol passing into the drains from a heavily contaminated petroleum interceptor at a petrol filling station some 300 yards away. However, the drainage drawings indicated that the drain run from the interceptor was not routed near the houses but that the surface drainage outside the filling station was. A leaking suction was revealed and no more smells have been reported since it was taken out of use.

The licensee was cautioned for reac of a licence condi tion relating to the

Sticky End

An inspector lost his trousers during a visit to the premises of a Bexley paint and equipment firm to inspect progress of work on a new mixing room. While he was talking to the manager the latter was trying to squeeze some 'super glue' out of a tube. When the manager eventually succeded, the glue sprayed onto the inspector's trousers and defied all attempts to clean it off. Xhe inspector is claiming compensation from the firm for the loss of his trousers, but not for the loss of his dignity.

Ven t Pipe fire

Whilst petrol was being transferred from a tank wagon into a storage tank at a filling station in Edgware, petrol vapour issuing from the top of the tank ventilating pipe caught fire following a flash from the ground up the pipe. No obvious cause of ignition could be found in the vicinity of the pipe. However, the flash over seemed to coincide with a vehicle being driven across the forecourt. The fire was put out by forecourt staff using a hand appliance.

Blown lids

A licensed store with a corrugated asbestos roof containing petroleum mixture and other flammable liquids was involved in a fire in Newham. The brick walls of the store contained the fire and the light construction of the roof allowed the fire to vent. The lids of some drums blew off when the contents became affected by the heat of the fire which was extinguished with a water fog jet. The cause of the blaze was not established.

Hondaman hurt

A Southwark resident was burned his face and hands when petrol caught fire whilst he was tinkering with his motor cycle in a lean-to at the rear of his house. Due to a communication problem the inspector had difficulty in explaining that petrol vapour may have been ignited by the gas-fired boiler located in the lean-to instead of a possible electrical fault on the cycle.

b h Welding in spraying room

The general foreman of the vehicle cleaning and maintenance of the interceptor. building department of an Enfield

motor company soon regretted his action in permitting welding to be undertaken on a vehicle which was temporarily standing in a large spraying room. The room is one of a number used for spraying commercial vehicles and has an unusual underfloor extract system prbtected by metal grilles. Access for cleaning the trunking is limited and the deposits which had been allowed to build up were soon ignited by sparks falling through the grilles from the welder's torch. Quick action with a variety of extinguishers helped to restrict the outbreak to the one room.

Arson about

A licensee's employee was charged and convicted of arson following a fire involving two cars in a basement garage. He was working on repairing a car in the garage contrary to instructions when the car caught fire. Realising that he would be in trouble he set fire to the next car in the attempt to make it appear that a vandal had started a fire involving both cars. The sprinkler system in the garage was activated.

Expensive repair

Four expensive cars were written-off when a fire in a garage workshop behind a West London service station caused the collapse of the roof of the building. The fire started when a fitter was removing the fuel gauge from the tank of the car. Petrol escaped from the tank and was ignited when it came into contact with an unsuitable hand lamp under the car. Two men were taken to hospital, one with minor facial burns and the otfter suffering from shock and smoke inhalation. The occupiers' attention was directed to the Petroleum Spirit (Motor Vehicles, etc) Regulations.

Unlucky for some

A self-service pump nozzle broke whilst a customer was charging the fuel tank of his Ford Granada at a Waltham Forest filling station. A piece of the nozzle fell down the tank fill pipe and it was arranged that the car be left for the piece to be removed. When the customer returned he found that his car had been destroyed by fire which started with an explosion whilst a mechanic was the fill pipe.

The cause of ignition was not established. No one was injured.

Pumping faul t

A pump at a filling station in the City of London developed a fault after a crane accidentally dropped a heavy load on a site opposite. Tests revealed a leaking suction line and a defective tank ventilating pipe.

Petrol on rail track

The appearance of petrol seeping through the retaining wall of a railway cutting outside Euston Station caused urgent activity one morning. Pumps on a filling station adjacent to the railway cutting were shut down. Soon after shutting down the pumps the seepage of petrol became intermittent. This appeared to indicate a leaking suction line. However, as a precaution the contents of the tank were uplifted by late evening.

Subsequent testing of the installation revealed a defective suction line. After two days the seepage of petrol through the retaining wall stopped, but later petrol vapour was noticed at the junction of land drains running along the side of the track and the retaining wall. The drains were also found to be badly contaminated with sludge and oil. Arrangements were made for the drains to be cleaned.

Derailed tankers

Two rail tank wagons containing aviation fuel were derailed when a train of seven wagons was shunted into wrong sidings near Reedham Station, Coulsdon. The draw-off pipe and foot valve assembly of the leading wagon were damaged in the derailment and some 30,000 litres of fuel leaked on to the track. A senior inspector and a district' inspector attended at different times to give advice. One visit was made during the middle of the nieht.

Pump hiccups

Electronic pumps recently installed at a filling station adjacent to Heathrow Airport showed a tendency to cut out for no apparent reason. The cause was subsequently traced to the presence of a ground level radar scanner on the opposite side of the road. Suitable screening of the pumps from the scanner seems to have eliminated the problem.

THE VILLAGE PUMP GOES ELECTRONIC

This article first appeared in the Petroleum Review for March 1978, Volume 32, number 375, page 42.

A.T.J. Dibboll explains the changes in style and technology that have transformed the design of the petrol pump since the 1920s.

Accaracy

With the increase of motor traffic in the early 1920s there came a pressing need for quick, safe and accurate dispensing of petroleum spirit accurate within the requirements of the 1904. Weights and Measures Act. In 1922, twin container pumps were marketed and won wide acceptance. With these early pumps. fuel was first delivered into a measured container and then manually drained into the car tank.

A couple of years later, there arrived the column pump which automatically delivered the fuel when the measured container was full . Two years further on, it is interesting to discover that a research team from one of our own UK based oil companies proved conclusively that displacement metering was the best method for accurate liquid measurement Even now, 50 years on and with all the electronic refinements of modern petrol dispensing methods, the basis of accurate measurements is still the positive displacement meter.

When considering the changing design of the petrol pump, it is worthwhile ind ulging in a brief moment of h istoric al research The very early da y s of the internal combusti on engine produce evocative photos and movies o f drum filling which co njure up t h e general excite ment of motoring at the ti me. Our more senior colleagues may recall such s ights and sounds, but for more of us the development of motori ng was synonymous with the Ro a ring Twent ie s

In the course of a half-century of development, there have been some very significant changes. all designed to make the whole process of fuelling the motor car safer and simpler for both motorist and forecourt operator. Electric petrol pumps could be said to have been the first major breakthrough, a viewpoint with which any forecourt attendant usi.ng an optional manual pump on a dark night during a power cut would agree

Casings

The casings of the petrol pumps have become progressively shorter and smarter with the passing of the years The displays of volume dispensed developed from the clock dial, through roller clocks (or drums) to those incorpo r ating money computers and designed to be at the motorist's

eye-level when parked at the pump.

In addition to the standard pump there were developed the twin or 'two-pumps-in-one' models. Both models, with their Veeder Root Computing Registers, are still in general use today.

Before leading into more sophistication, it is as well to consider variations on what might be termed 'standard equipment'. The commercial or fleet user petrol pump needs no detailed description. Available for non-retail sales, but built to the same high standards of accuracy, it provides good housekeeping for fleet users, in addition to providing an efficient method of pumping fuel into trucks, buses, ambulances and other non-private vehicles.

Payment

On the retail side, there has been fairly wide use of note-acceptor and coin operated facilities on pumps. Both pre payment facilities are perhaps becoming slightly overtaken by inflation and the rising cost of product. Certainly, with the single 50p coin. Operation pre payment facility now barely providing for the purchase of the legal minimum single-quantity transaction of half a gallon, any such coin operated pump in service would appear destined to revert to permanent attendant operation or manual use quite soon.

Pre-payment petrol pumps (whether by coin or banknote) followed close on the heels of post-payment self-service as introduced to the UK market in the early 60s. Equipment was provided to transmit signals from the petrol pump to the kiosk, either electro-mechanically or electronically. Either way, the motorists helped themselves from a petrol pump on the forecourt before walking to the kiosk to make payment.

Price-cutting

These post-payment self-service operations were introduced at a time when price-cutting on the forecourt stimulated some retailers to thoughts of how costs could be reduced by a penny or two per gallon. Interestingly enough, the movement into post-payment self-service operations was headed by the retailers and independents, rather than by the major oil companies. However, with their rapid acceptance on the part of the general motoring ub1ic, the major oil companies soon :ppreciated the potential inherent in self-service.

While resisting commonly-made comparisons with the grocery supermarket and hypermarket field, it is nevertheless true to say that there has been a steady movement into larger throughput selfservice sites. Fewer sites and bigger throughputs appear to be the message.

Blending

So far we have made no mention of blending at the petrol pump. There are some oil company engineers involved in retail equipment who might feel that they would have fewer grey hairs but for the marketer's decision to 'go blending'

What are the facts? Without doubt, the blending petrol pump introduced in the late 60s with its conventional or mechanical computing register, was a more complicated pice of kit than any thing used hitherto. It had two base grades entering the pump, a high-and a low-octane petrol. The pump then provided as many as nine intermediate grades. All 11 grades were capable of being individually priced. The servicing of forecourt equipment assumed greater importance, as care had to be taken not only that quantities delivered to the motorists were accurate, but also that the petrol was blended to the required ratio.

There was concern from engineers but enthusiasm from the retail marketers. The flow of traffic through the forecourt was improved, with the motorists able to drive to any available pump regardless of the octane rating required. However, the forecourt equipment designers were looking for imporved methods of dispensing products. Electronically speaking, self-servicing equipment had run the gamut of discrete components, intergrated circuits, etc and now further developments appeared likely to offer more accurate metering and blending.

The rapid development in electronic technology in recent years has allowed forecourt equipment to not only blend and meter more accurately. but t·o cater for a whole range of options.

There is no doubt that the rapid escalation in.price per gallon which resulted from the oil crisis of 1973 has thrown a greater burden on mechanical equipment. Higher prices have meant faster rotation of computer end drums. The wear of moving parts has increased. whereas electronic computing has used the more trouble free digital displays.

interpretation

Aside from reliability of customer displays of volume and price electronics provide the ability to interpret meter accuracy. The basis of this accuracy is still the positive displacement meter. The reliable pulse transmitters now used convert basic meter accuracy by displaying volume in gallons to two places of decimals, with some systems displays for calibration purposes to 1/500th of a gallon.

It is important to remember that the initial verification of a petrol pump by the local Trading Standards Inspector requires a gallon of petrol to be delivered at both operating speed and slow speed (two gallons per minute), with a maximum of eight drams in excess and no under-delivery permitted.

As has been pointed out many times, eight drams in excess per gallon the legal initial verification tolerance can, for a service station selling a million gallons per annum, allow a giveaway loss to the operator (be it an oil company or a dealer) of some 6,000 gallons.

As electronic forecourt equipment now permits adjustments to the positive displacement meter to reduce gallons given away (without, of course, under delivery), accurate metering is now paying off, probably beyond the expectations of those oil company research team members in the 20s.

The pulses from the two meters in the electronic blender are now utilised to verify the blending accuracy. This eliminates any possibility of either 'giving away' the higher octane base grade or inadvertently dispensing blended product below the legally allowable star rating claimed.

Options

So much for metering and blending accuracies. The options provided by electronic forecourt equipment include presetting by volume or price; pre payment note acceptors; credit card validators; rapid cross-checking at the end of each shift of gallons dispensed on site against cash taken

as displayed on the kiosk console; interfacing with tank content gauges; and transmission by direct line or by cassette to a centralised computer base, with the latest microprocessing technology automatic faultfinding displayed on a Visual Display Unit.

To all the advantages offered to the oil companies and service station operators should be added the greater reliability of modern electronic equipment. For the motoring public and the forecourt attendants the latest dispenser shapes provide for ease of hose handling, simple blend selection and, where required, presetting by cash.

While all the modern electronic equipment is easily metricated, some marketers feel the motoring public will find the change to litres easier to face if accustomed to purchasing in cash amounts.

Styles

Earlier the styling of petrol pumps was mentioned. The hose is now suspended from a height which is dictated to allow the optimum range of action with the legal maximum hose length allowed, the weight of hose and nozzle being acceptable to the self-service customer. The displays of price and volume must conform to standards acceptable by the Department of Prices and Consumer Protection and easily viewed by customers. The whole dispenser package must be agreeable to the eye, with casings often manufactured in Glass Reinforced Plastic for ease of maintenance. Is this the last word on pump design? Probably not. After all, constantly improving technology changes the performance of our customers' cars without radically altering their body shapes. The same will probably be true of the pumps of the future.

Archie Dibboll is Home Sales Manager with Avery-Hardoll, where he has worked since 1960. He previously served in the Royal Navy as a pilot.

PETROL - FINAL DELIVERY

by Wyatt Oldham (An Acquaintance of ARTHUR PINT) .

I don't know if anyone actually read the articles by Arthur Pint in the two previous editions of this journal. My reaction to the first was that the author of the dissertation displayed a remarkably keen sense of vivid imagery if he imagined that people would read his rubbish. The most notable feature of the second was it's mediocraty.

However I have to admit that although his ideas were similar to those of past generations who believed in a flat earth, some did have grains of truth in them. Any they did raise quite a loud smile here and there.

Perhaps I declare my interest in the matter. Firstly I think I am probably the petroleum officer to whom he referred, and if the cap fits then you should wear it (as they say in Holland). Secondly experience leads me to believe that there must be other people like Arthur as the following anecdotes demonstrate.

Holey Pipelines

I recall an inspection at a large petrol filling station where a rerouting of the pipelines was to be carried out. On my arrival I noticed a trench. In the trench was a workman and pipeline and in his hands was a pneumatic drill. In the pipeline (you guessed) there was a hole!

Well anybody can make a mistake and this character was not exactly the quickest on the uptake. I can't reveal his nationality because of the Race Relations Act. "Paddy", I said "I gave you the existing plans to follow and you promised me you could avoid the existing pipelines." "To be sure I most ways," he replied, "But on this plan where they're not, there they are."

I scrutinised his plans which certainly weren't the ones I'd given to him. They showed the positions of the new lines. He was avoiding those which were not yet installed! "I thought these would be more up to date," he said defensively.

Joking Apart

But it's not always mistakes which cause danger) sometimes it can be caused by deliberate acts. You may have heard the story of the practical joker on the building site. He didn't want to harm anyone, but he'd do anything for a laugh.

On a particularly wet and miserable day all the rest of the gang were huddled around an open coke stove in the site hut having one of their interminable tea breaks. In walked "Joker': placed a five gallon drum next to the glowing stove and said, "That should warm it up a bit." He then walked out locking the door behind him.

The whole gang sat first in disbelief, then in horror as they slowly. and in unison mouthed the spelling of the one word painted in large, menacing, red characters on the drum PET R 0 L.

The simultaneous frenzied efforts of the unfortunate occupants to evacuate the hut en masse, first via the locked door and then through the single small window had predictably disastrous results. Predictable that is, to anyone who stops to think of the possible outcome of his actions.

The results? Three broken arms, one broken leg and numerous cuts and bruises. The drum? It was full of water: The moral? A single clot can cause rigor mortis.

Tail Piece

I rember on one occasion almost coming to grief myself. It was in the days when I was young and keen, too keen perhaps.

I was carrying out an inspection.of a tank wagon and, being a weights and measures inspector as well as a petroleum officer, I was particularly interested in the dipsticks and the measure being carried. The dipsticks were of a type which had a retaining piece at the bottom to prevent them from being completely removed what a good idea.

It was pouring with rain and the vehicle was dirty and oily, but I was completely enveloped in the job and taking an inordinately long time over the inspection.

The driver however had seen it all before and made no bones about his dissatisfaction at delayed in a storm. He was storming. In fact the whole encounter

could have been a social disaster but for the interesting, but I suspect, slightly vulgar witticisms of the driver. I can still recall what he said he'd like to do with the dipstick but fortunately as I say, it could not be totally withdrawn from the tanker.

LEGAL PROCEEDINGS

Bedfordshire

At Bedford Magistrates' Court on 25th April, 1978, J.F. Warren and J.G. Hunt trading as Blue Circle APL Cars at 18A, St John's Street, Bedford, were each fined a total of £75 plus £15.55 costs for 6 offences, being contraventions of the PetroleumSpiri t (Motor Vehicles etc.) Regulations 1929.

Unmarked containers of petroleum-spirit were being stored in an unventilated upstairs taxi-operators' control office, in close proximity to a lighted paraffin heater. Three people normally worked in this office, which under these circumstances formed an extremely hazardous situation.

Essex Keeping

On 9th February 1978, at Thurrock Magistrates Court, Benjamin Grazier, of Tilbury, was charged with the following offences, contrary to Section 33(1)(c) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974.

(1) Failing to take reasonable precautions to prevent a fire being so near a vessel in which petroleumspirit is kept as to be dangerous in contravention of Regulation 9 of the Petroleum-Spirit (Motor Vehicles etc) Regulations 1929.

(2) Carried on an operation involving the exposure of petroleum-spirit in the neighbourhood of a fire in contravention of Regulation 10 of the Petroleum-Spirit (Motor Vehicle etc) Regulations 1929.

(3) Kept petroleum-spirit otherwise than in metal containers in contravention of Regulation 2 of the Petroleum-Spirit (Motor Vehicles etc.) Regulations 1929.

(4) Kept petroleum-spirit in a vessel exceeding 2 gallons capacity in contravention of Regulation 7 of the Petroleum-Spirit (Motor Vehicles etc.) Regulations 1929.

(5) Kept petroleum-spirit in a vessel which was not marked "petroleum-spirit" and "highly inflammable" in contravention of Regulation 4 of the Petroleum-Spirit (Motor Vehicles etc) Act 1929.

The defendant was found guilty on all five charges, and fines totalling £210 were imposed by the Magistrates with an advocates fee of £20.

The charges arose .from the storage of 32 gallons of petrol in 5 gallon drums which Mr Grazier had stored because of the "Go Slow" of the oil companies" drivers, and came to light when a fire was caused when an employee was tipping petrol from a 5 gallon drum into the tank of a car in the defendants's workshop within 5ft. of a tortoise stove.

The Magistrates ordered the petrol and containers to be forfeited.

GREATER LONDON COUNCIL

At Highgate Magistrates' Court a licensee was fined a total of £900 with £50 oosts for contraventions of a licence condition requiring storage tanks to be kept securely closed. A fine of £400 was imposed for the infringement relating

to a tank which was overfilled and £100 in respect of each of the other five uncapped tanks. The proceedings resulted from a spillage of a substantial quantity of petrol during a tank wagon delivery through an off-set fill pipe. Most of the lost petrol ran into the road which had to be closed during cleaning up operations.

The forecourt attendant was fined £25 at the same Court for each Court for each of two breaches of the Petroleum Spirit (Conveyance by Road) Regulations 1957 relating to the delivery of petrol; the tank was not dipped immediately before delivery and he permitted delivery to commence with the dipping pipe uncapped.

Contravention of tunnel by-law

An owner/drive of a lorry was fined £20 with £10 costs at Thames Magistrates' Court for transporting a Class B substance (synthetic primer) through Blackwall Tunnel in contravention of a Blackwall Tunnel By-law. The size of the fine was disappointing in this case.

Leaking acid

A van carrying hydrochloric acid in plastic containers was being

driven along Victoria Embankment when the driver noticed that a part of his load was leaking. The driver stopped the van and quickly unloaded the 15 ten gallon containers. Four were found to be fractured.

The operator was fined £100 with £50 costs at Bow Street Magistrates' Court for contravening The Corrosive Substance (Conveyance by Road) Regulations by not carrying a fire extinguisher and not displaying the correct size of warning label on the vehicle.

Kent

Explosives Unregistered Storage

On 19th April 1978 at Gravesend Magistrates Court, Roger Charles Reeves trading as Charles Reeves pleaded not guilty to a charge of unauthorised keeping of a quantity of safety cartridges.

The management of the premises had been warned repeatedly that registration was required for the keeping for sale of safety cartridges but had failed to comply.

A fine of £75.00 and costs of £25.00 were imposed by the Magistrates when they found the case proved.

TANK WAGONS AND CONVEYANCE BY ROAD

by Old Timer

I frequently encounter tractor units, "approved" by a Government Inspector for attachment to tank trailers in excess of 1500 gall capacity (Reg 1957/191 1st Part 11. para 6 (1) (a». units often do not comply with these Regulations in that there is no "fire screen" (all G R P Cab) and the batteries are at the rear of the cab. When the tractor is used "as approved" i.e. with a tank trailer (I refer to an articulated unit), 1 feel that 1 must accept it because of para 6 (1) (a) of the 1st Schedule but

what is the position if such a vehicle is used with a can or barrel carryingot apply trailer? In this case para 6 does n hile and the unit is clearly illegal. ThuS w one cannot object to this unit dragging 6000 gallons of Petroleum Spirit in partmented tank along a public road, 1t 1 clearly illegal if it drags along a loan exceeding 32 gallons in cans or one 50 gallon barrel!

Perhaps your kindly Petroleum Liaison Officer can help us.

SOME CURRENT LICENSING PROBLEMS

J. Frid, Hon Secretary, The Association for Petroleum & Explosives Administration

A talk given by Mr Frid to the Conference on Administration and Enforcement of the Licencing Provisions of The Petroleum (Consolidation) Act 1928, held by the Health and Safety Executive in London on 14th April 1978.

The Petroleum Act of 1928 is, in my opinion, one of the few pieces of technical legislation that has been used to it's limits some would say beyond this and with a few exceptions, has stood the test of time. However it has now, I believe, been overtaken by industrial development and modern practice. I feel that its' basic concepts are still visible, and with suitable modification could serve us for a further fifty years. It is my task in this brief review of the subject to highlight some of the deficiencies that I believe exist in the law, with particular reference to petrol filling stations and can and drum stores, deficiences which you may well wish to emphasise later.

If I may, I will deal with the problems associated with filling stations first, and commence my remarks by to the Home Office Code of Practice for this type of premises. The Code was published in 1968 almost ten years ago, and, although much has been done by petroleum officers throughout the country to attain the very minimal standards set out in the Code, many of the older licensed premises are still well below these standards. Local Authorities, particularly since Local Government re-organisation in 1974. have endeavoured to remedy this situation. Some have indicated their unwillingness to re-licence such sub-standard stations when current licences expire, others have given such licensees various periods of time to bring their establishments up to stanctard, whilst a third category, by dint of persuasion and pressure have attempted to gradually raise the standards of safety at these sites.

The growth in the numbers of appeals is one measure of this unsatisfactory situation. Licensing Authorities are constantly asking the question, if

the Home Office felt in 1968 that their recommendations were reasonable for new filling stations, why then are those recommendations not reasonable for all filling stations today. In view of the fact that ten years have passed, and during that time legislation directed at safety has increased, the question should not go begging for much longer.

Whilst making this particular comment I would like to make a further point. It concerns the lack of information about appeals. We are told that these are increasing, wouldn't it be advantageous to all if the circumstances and decisions regarding these were made available to Licensing Authorities? At least this might save repetitive appeals, and would surely give Authorities further guidelines which could be considered when similar problems were encountered.

Another difficulty which appears to be causing a great deal of concern to Licensing Authorities, is that of derelict or out of use underground storage tanks. Here we have differing circumstances which are causing considerable problems. Firstly there is the tank that has contained petroleum spirit and which has been put temporarily out of use. Filled with water it is quite safe, but for how long should this be allowed? What inspection should be undertaken to ensure that it is still safe? Furthermore when the licence for such storage expires, and the licensee as sometimes happens, goes out of business for some reason or other, what then is reasonable action on the part of the Authority? It can of course invoke the time consuming, and in the opinion of some, the unreasonable provisions of Section 73 of the Public Health Act 1961, but this seems to me to be a most unsatisfactory method of dealing with a problem that could well be remedied by suitable

modiIications to existing Petroleum that many in this area of commerce legislation. I feel that it would be experience. In some cases they wish advantageous to all concerned with these andto keep a number of differing other prob lems, if the Execu ·::'ive would take flammable substances, some of which a long look at the situation and are petroleum mixtures others which incorporate suitable remedies in new may be flammable sUbstances controlled legislation or Codes of Practice. At by Regulations administered by the the same time it would be most useful Health and Safety Executive Inspectors. if the Executive would also examine the Similarly their spray shop and spraying various test methods used to determine operations are liable to inspection the soundness of underground storage under further legislation. All this tanks, and to issue some guidance, by for what is in many cases a small one or Model Code or other method, as to two man operation, no wonder our what form of test should be acceptable faces are red when remarks are passed in order to standardise the approach about the waste of tax payers' money. to this further difficulty.

There will no doubt be many other problems that Authorities will wish to raise with regard to petrol filling stations, but these I feel are the one's that are currently giving the most cause for concern.

I now come to an area of our work that in my opinion borders on the ludicrous, the licencing and control of can and drum stores. I must confess personally to having felt ridiculously bureaucratic on many occasions, whilst trying to explain to a person wishing to keep a small qunatity of petroleum mixtures, that I am not interested in his problems in relation to perhaps thousands of gallons of some other highly flammable substance which he also wishes to store. In many cases he is required to construct a completely separate store for what is sometimes a very small percentage of stored flammables. He can only keep such petroleum mixtures under licence, whilst his other storage, possibly of more dangerous chemicals, has to satisfy different legislation. How much easier and more efficient our task would be, if we were able to look at and advise on his entire problem of storage, rather than as now, a small part of it.

Then there is the further problem of deciding what is'keeping' under the Petroleum Acts, and distinguishing between that and 'use'. Again different legislation is involved, enforced by a different authority. In the majority of circumstances cases like these could be adequately served by one inspector applying legislation covering the whole operation from the delivery of such substances to their final disposal.

The situation that exists in vehicle spray shops is a typical example, and demonstrates the understandable confusion

Whilst on the subject of can and drum stores, I would like to mention one further problem that has been with us for many years and appears to be growing daily. This involves the ever increasing variety of petroleum mixtures used about the home, adhesives, solvents, paint sprays, etc. Almost every department store, ironmongers, chemist, shoe repairers, supermarket, builders merchant and do it yourself shop, carries a stock of flammables many of which are petroleum mixtures.

Current legislation and Codes of Practice are not designed to cater for this type of storage. In many shops it is virtually impossible to enforce existing legislation without closing down that particular service. To explain to the busy entrepreneur that whilst it is perfectly alright for him to keep up to three gallons of petroleum mixtures in containers not exceeding one pint in his shop, he cannot keep that quantity in one litre containers, is difficult, particularly when on the next shelf he has perhaps twenty gallons of another substance, equally flammable, but not petroleum mixture.

No doubt there are many other similar instances of difficulties experienced under present Petroleum legislation that will be put forward later. From the points that I have raised in this brief paper, I think it is obvious. that changes will have to be made 1n the legislation that we currently administer. That this conference has been arranged must indicate that we are not alone in thinking that this important area of public safety needs to be looked at closely. Let us hope that the right answers are found, for when legislation lags ,ehind technical progress, there is the danger that safety lags behind also.

BRANCH REPORTS

EASTERN

Minutes of the Annual General Meeting of the Eastern Branch held at Cambridge, 5th April 1978.

Mr J.W. Frid, Chairman of the Branch, opened the meeting and thanked the eleven members and one visitor for their attendance.

APOLOGIES

Fourteen members tendered their apologies.

MINUTES OF LAST MEETING

There were no minutes as this was the first A.G.M. of the Eastern Branch.

MATTERS ARISING

None.

CORRE SPONDENCE

None.

CHAIRMAN'S REPORT

Mr Frid stressed the importance of increased membership and pleaded with members to obtain at least one new member, and then the problems of the Association would be solved. Although he was convinced of the importance of regular meetings he thought four meetings a year were too many. Mr Frid also mentioned the Instruction Courses which the Association held prior to 1974 and said that the main reason for not continuing these was the cost.

SECRETARY/TREASURER'S REPORT

Mr Brown informed the Branch that membership stood at 29. The Branch commenced with a balance of £16.02 from the Anglia Branch and with subscriptions and interest had a balance of £29.59 after minimal expenditure. Since the inaugural meeting, three meetings had been held and the arrangements were being made to set up a working party to agree a common policy on the "making safe of tanks".

APPOINTMENT OF OFFICERS

Mr Frid proposed that Mr J. Thompson (G.L.C. Fire Brigade) be elected Chairman for the ensuing year. This was seconded by Mr Brown and the meeting agreed.

Mr Thompson thanked the members and said that he was pleased to take office. He also thanked Mr Frid for his passed services together with the Cambridgeshire Fire Service for providing the excellent accommodation to hold our meetings.

Mr C.G. Hill proposed that Mr J.W. Frid (Cambridgeshire) be elected Vice Chairman. This was seconded by Mr J. Wright and agreed by the meeting.

Mr J.S. Crewe proposed that Mr E.B. Brown (Cambridgeshire) be elected Secretary/ Treasurer. This was seconded by Mr C.G. Hill and agreed by the meeting.

Mr E.B. Brown proposed that Mr L.J. Brooks be elected Auditor. Mr Frid seconded this and the meeting agreed.

Mr Thompson proposed that the Secretary should be the Branch Representative. Mr Crewe seconded this and the meeting agreed.

Two members were elected to the Executive Committee. They are Mr B. Lowe, proposed by Mr Crewe and seconded by Mr J. Wright and Mr J. Wright proposed by Mr Frid and seconded by Mr C.G. Hill.

ANY OTHER BUSINESS

The next meeting will be held at Ipswich on 15th June 1978.

Mr Lowe raised the question whether the Working Party on disused tanks was to be representative of all Authorities within the Branch. He was informed that it was hoped that full support would be given by all Authorities.

Mr Crewe, as Editor of the Bulletin, made his regular plea for articles and other information. He especially asked for small "fillers" i.e. press cuttings etc.

OPEN DISCUSSION

Mr Crewe informed the meeting that an Electrical Contractor had refused to issue an electrical certificate for a high line pump with an Emu note acceptor which drew air from what he considered to be a Division 2 area Apparently the G.L.C. had adopted a Code in accordance with the proposed L.A.J.A.C. Code which differs from

the 1968 Home Office Code. Mr Frid, as National Secretary agreed to clarify the point with the Health and Safety Executive.

Mr Lowe informed members that he had heard of the possible transfer of Conveyance legislation to the Police and Ministry Traffic Examiners. Although nothing had been settled he suggested representations should be made.

Mr Thompson informed members of an incident where 13 petrol tanks had been placed near a housing estate and that it was difficult to deal with this problem as no power existed under the Public Health Act unless the tanks were fixed. Change of use to diesel or paraffin raised no problems.

There being no further business the meeting adjourned for lunch.

After lunch Mr Lowe, Bedfordshire Trading Standards Department, gave an enlightening talk on "Legal Proceedings under Petroleum Legislation". Mr Lowe touched on the important parts of the legislation emphasizing those points which he thought of interest.

Mr Lowe stressed the importance of obtaining all the evidence pending a prosecution, the correct cautioning procedure and the taking of samples.

Mr Lowe raised such questions as What is the degreee of risk when considering a prosecution? Where does enforcement begin and end? Who is a competent person in charge of a storage tank?

Mr Lowe concluded his talk by briefly dealing with the relevant sections of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974.

Mr Thompson thanked Mr Lowe for his excellent talk which he had given at short notice.

The meeting was closed at 15.30.

EASTERN

Minutes of the meeting of the Eastern Branch held at Ipswich on 15th June 1978.

The meeting was opened by the Branch Chairman, Mr J.A.J. Thompson. He welcomed the 20 members and 7 guests to Ipswich and in particular Mr G.S. Bailey, the Chairman of the Association, and Mr S. Worsfold who had kindly agreed to give a paper on the Conveyance of Petroleum

There were three apologies of absence.

Mr. G.S. Bailey thanked Ur. J. McD. Halliday for arranging the facilities for the days proceedings, and Suffolk County Council for the loan of the conference room.

There being no business to discuss, Mr S. Worsfold , a Senior Petroleum Inspector with the G.L.C. Petroleum Branch, was invited to give his paper.

Mr Worsfold proceeded to give an enlightening insight into the legal and practical points of the conveyance of petroleum. Members asked a series of questions and a good discussion followed.

The meeting adjourned for lunch and then resumed at the local Ministry of Transport Testing Station where a petrol tanker had been provided.

Mr Worsfold then gave a guided tour of the intimate parts of a petrol tank wagon which proved most helpful to members and removed a certain hesitance towards tanker inspection.

Mr J.S. Crewe, on behalf of the meeting, thanked Mr Worsfold for his informative paper and guided tour, the Ministry of Transport for the afternoon facilities, and the Petroleum Company for their tanker without which the afternoons proceedings would not have gone so well .

Essential equipment for a fondue party.

FOR USE IN EXPLOSIVE AREAS

an important new publication from Technical Help to Exporters

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Each of the 17 countries is dealt with individually and each country section shows:-

1 which regulations govern the use of electrical equipment in flammable atmospheres;

2 how flammable substances and areas are classified compared with British and international classi.fications;

3 which methods of explosion protection and which construction and testing standards are in common use;

4 how certification can be obtained and whether UK or other certification is acceptable;

5 whether test reports from other recognised testing stations can ease the granting of national certification;

6 details of relevant documents and published material.

This 200-page survey covers Australia, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany (FR) , Greece, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the USA.

Electrical equipment for flammable atmospheres is published in a looseleaf binder and costs £60 to THE members and £80 to non-members. Copies are available from the Sales Office, Technical Help to Exporters, British Standards Institution, Maylands Avenue, Hemel Hempstead, Herts HP2 4SQ. Te1: 0442 3111.