Explosions, and the subsequent fires, follow a similar pattern in the chemical industry so it begs the question, why doesn’t the lesson get learnt and safety management systems (SMS) get reviewed and improved for the experience learnt throughout the industry.…
The Buncefield Fire 2005 A case of a failed limit switch and audible warning of danger. The Incident On 11th December 2005, near Hemel Hempstead in Hertfordshire, a major fire brokeout at an oil storage facility. The organisation had a…
The Incident On 21st September 1992 at about 1.20 pm at Hickson & Welch Ltd in West Yorkshire, a jet of flames exploded from a manway access opening on the side of a batch still. Two people were killed and…
The serious fire at Associated Octel Ltd has some similarities with The FlixboroughDisaster 1974. These two disasters followed a combination of failures, questioningwhy the lesson had not been learned from Flixborough. The Incident Associated Octel is a chemical manufacturing company…
The Incident On 8th January 1989 a Boeing 737-400 aircraft left Heathrow airport for Belfast with 8 crew members and 118 passengers on board. About 20 miles from the East Midlands Airport the engine began vibrating and there was a…
The Incident Flixborough chemical works had been managed safely for many years, with no notable accidents, until temporary repairs and modifications to maintain production were carried out after a six foot crack developed in one of the six inline reactors. …
The Incident On 17th October 2000 a Great North Eastern Railway InterCity 225 train going from London to Leeds derailed at Hatfield station killing 4 people in the restaurant coach and injuring 70, three seriously. Reports concluded that communication was…
Welcome to our blog series looking at the causes and consequences of well known disasters. This blog looks at the Ladbroke Grove Rail Crash, on the Great Western Main line, which is also known as the Paddington Rail Crash of…
Welcome to our blog series looking at the causes and consequences of well known disasters. This blog looks at the Clapham Junction Train Crash 1988. The Incident The Clapham Junction Train crash occurred on 12th December 1988 at just after 8am.…
Welcome to our blog series looking at the causes and consequences of well known disasters. This blog looks at Harrow and Wealdstone Rail Crash 1952. The Incident The Harrow and Wealdstone Rail Crash occurred on 8th October 1952 at Harrow…
