Buncefield Fire - Initial Speculation On Causes

Initial Speculation On Causes

The police issued a statement saying that they were treating the incident as an accident as opposed to a terrorist attack. Italian television stations early on the morning of the fire described the event as a possible terrorist attack and went to the extent of showing features on the July 2005 terrorist bombings. Speculation about the possible terrorist nature of the blasts was prompted by the fact that a videotape allegedly released by al-Qaeda four days previously had called for attacks on fuel depots and refineries containing oil "stolen" from Muslim countries. However, the cause of the blasts will likely not be known until a full investigation is completed.

An oil industry specialist speculated on BBC News that a vapour leak could have built up to explosive concentrations because of the ground frost in the area keeping vapour concentration at ground level. This would have resulted in a fuel-air explosion. It is industry practice for detection systems to be in place to reveal leakages. In order for this scenario to be fulfilled, there must have been a leakage that was not picked up by the leak detection system.

A BBC News 24 interview with a petrol tanker driver, who was about to load his tanker at 06:00, reported a cloud of mist rolling in from the tank farm area behind the loading bay. All electric lights were turned off and they were ordered to leave the site on foot. As he was doing so, the blast blew him off his feet. In another interview, a security guard in a nearby office building reported an unusual smell of petrol inside his building before the explosion. Hertfordshire police reported speaking to a tanker driver concerned that switching the engine cut-off on his tanker might have triggered the explosion.

Other safety experts spoke of a known "weekend effect" in industry, in which weekend maintenance creates an unsafe condition. A retired military explosives safety officer submitted a published paper on the explosion to the HSE inquiry. The paper was intended to help those who lived close to petrol storage depots and who were worried about the risks they faced. It contained different views from those of other experts whose opinions had been voiced publicly, and was critical of the HSE's general safety culture.

Buncefield was clearly a major emergency, but luckily the public health impact was rather small. The situation could have been very different if the initial explosion had happened at a different time, or if the weather conditions had been less favourable for dispersing the plume. So we need to analyse our response carefully and make sure any lessons are learnt.

— Professor Pat Troop, Chief Executive of the Agency.

The MIIB focused on three main work streams subsuming the lessons to be learned from the incident:

1. Design and operation of storage sites
2. Emergency response to incidents
3. Advice to planning authorities

The primary need identified was for additional safety measures to prevent fuel escaping from its storage tanks, and to deal adequately with fuel when it does escape, preventing it from forming a flammable vapour and pollutants from poisoning the environment. This report demand that the fuel industry should extensively strengthen safety measures at storage sites handling large quantities of fuel.

Soon after the incident the Health Protection Agency was stripped of its remit to provide air quality data and it was passed on to the Environment Agency who form part of the Major Accident Investigation Board.