Mayo no events posted in last week
Interested in maladministration. Estd. 2005
RTEs Sarah McInerney ? Fianna Fail supporter? Anthony
Joe Duffy is dishonest and untrustworthy Anthony
Robert Watt complaint: Time for decision by SIPO Anthony
RTE in breach of its own editorial principles Anthony
Waiting for SIPO Anthony Public Inquiry >>
Indymedia Ireland is a volunteer-run non-commercial open publishing website for local and international news, opinion & analysis, press releases and events. Its main objective is to enable the public to participate in reporting and analysis of the news and other important events and aspects of our daily lives and thereby give a voice to people.
Julian Assange is finally free ! Tue Jun 25, 2024 21:11 | indy
Stand With Palestine: Workplace Day of Action on Naksa Day Thu May 30, 2024 21:55 | indy
It is Chemtrails Month and Time to Visit this Topic Thu May 30, 2024 00:01 | indy
Hamburg 14.05. "Rote" Flora Reoccupied By Internationalists Wed May 15, 2024 15:49 | Internationalist left
Eddie Hobbs Breaks the Silence Exposing the Hidden Agenda Behind the WHO Treaty Sat May 11, 2024 22:41 | indy Human Rights in Ireland >>
Biden Proposes Sweeping Supreme Court Reforms as He Attacks ?Extreme? Judges Tue Jul 30, 2024 19:00 | Will Jones Joe Biden has proposed sweeping reforms to the U.S. Supreme Court accusing it of making "dangerous and extreme decisions" and losing the public?s trust.
The post Biden Proposes Sweeping Supreme Court Reforms as He Attacks “Extreme” Judges appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.
Reeves Scraps Winter Fuel Payments for 10 Million Pensioners to Fund Public Sector Wage Rise Tue Jul 30, 2024 17:00 | Will Jones Rachel Reeves is to scrap winter fuel payments for 10 million pensioners and ditch a cap on social care costs to fund a public sector wage rise, it has been announced.
The post Reeves Scraps Winter Fuel Payments for 10 Million Pensioners to Fund Public Sector Wage Rise appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.
A Summary of Why the Czech Republic Vaccine Data are So Devastating to the ?Safe and Effective? Narr... Tue Jul 30, 2024 15:00 | Will Jones The Czech Republic record-level vaccine data are devastating to the "safe and effective" narrative, says Steve Kirsch, as he provides a new overview that explains why.
The post A Summary of Why the Czech Republic Vaccine Data are So Devastating to the “Safe and Effective” Narrative appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.
Keir Starmer?s Anti-Israel Policies Are Now No Different to Jeremy Corbyn?s Tue Jul 30, 2024 13:00 | Will Jones Unlike Jeremy Corbyn, Keir Starmer has never described Hezbollah as his friends. But other than that, when it comes to Israel there is now little of consequence to differentiate them, says Stephen Pollard.
The post Keir Starmer’s Anti-Israel Policies Are Now No Different to Jeremy Corbyn’s appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.
Is the Muslim Vote Abandoning Labour? Tue Jul 30, 2024 11:00 | Frank Haviland Is the 'Muslim vote' set to abandon Labour? With three quarters of British Muslims refusing to believe Hamas committed atrocities on October 7th, it's hard to see how Labour can retain them, says Frank Haviland.
The post Is the Muslim Vote Abandoning Labour? appeared first on The Daily Sceptic. Lockdown Skeptics >>
Voltaire, international edition
Netanyahu soon to appear before the US Congress? It will be decisive for the suc... Thu Jul 04, 2024 04:44 | en
Voltaire, International Newsletter N°93 Fri Jun 28, 2024 14:49 | en
Will Israel succeed in attacking Lebanon and pushing the United States to nuke I... Fri Jun 28, 2024 14:40 | en
Will Netanyahu launch tactical nuclear bombs (sic) against Hezbollah, with US su... Thu Jun 27, 2024 12:09 | en
Will Israel provoke a cataclysm?, by Thierry Meyssan Tue Jun 25, 2024 06:59 | en Voltaire Network >>
|
Shell's safety record fails to inspire confidence
mayo |
rights, freedoms and repression |
other press
Wednesday June 21, 2006 21:00 by Shell to Sea
![Report this post to the editors Report this post to the editors](../graphics/report.gif)
"If Shell, in 1999, had listened to what he said and taken action then, then the two guys wouldn't have died"
BBC reports that company "ignored accident warning"
Protesters against the Corrib gas scheme have often highlighted the appalling terms of the contract whereby the shareholders of the Shell, Statoil, Marathon Oil, and even the people of Norway, will gain more than the people of Ireland from the exploitation of Irish natural resources. Others however, claim that private operators simply would not be attracted to the Irish scene if the government didn't give them such a good deal (so what difference would it make?).
However the thing that no-one can argue about is safety. No-one believes that people should be forced to live beside an experimental piece of industrial equipment carrying explosive gas at extremly high pressure, if there is a chance that it might explode. Everyone agrees- if it's not safe, it shouldn't be built.
Shell say it is safe, but the following report from the BBC casts doubt on the company's attitude to safety.
![Click on image to see full-sized version offshore_rig_design_1.gif](../attachments/jun2006/offshore_rig_design_1.gif) Shell 'ignored accident warning'
Oil giant Shell has been accused of operating platforms in the North Sea at dangerously high risk levels.
Former senior manager Bill Campbell, who led a safety review, claimed the company ignored his warning in 1999 that an accident was bound to happen.
Four years later two men were killed by a gas leak on the Brent Bravo platform.
Shell dismissed the claims. It said: "The allegation regarding operating with high risk levels is untrue and we absolutely refute this."
The company added that it had responded to the review and put a detailed improvement plan in place.
Keith Moncrieff, 45, of Invergowrie near Dundee, and Sean McCue, 22, of Kennoway in Fife, died after being overcome by a massive release of hydrocarbon gas in September 2003.
Shell was later fined £900,000 after admitting health and safety breaches, including failing to carry out a risk assessment on the platform.
Speaking to BBC's Frontline Scotland programme, Mr Campbell said during the safety management review in 1999 he had been particularly shocked at what he discovered on Brent Bravo.
He said he found equipment was being operated in a dangerous condition, vital maintenance was being ignored and that lies were being told to cover it up.
It was also alleged that some emergency shutdown valves on Brent Bravo were not closing and platform managers reported 96% compliance with safety critical maintenance while the actual levels of compliance were 14%.
Mr Campbell said: "If you operate offshore installations at dangerously high levels of risk, the implication of that is that a major accident event will happen.
"It is a surprise to me that it took as long as 2003 before that happened."
Colin MacFarlane, professor of subsea engineering at Strathclyde University in Glasgow, said the Brent Bravo accident could have been a large-scale disaster because of the safety flaws identified by Mr Campbell.
"Bill Campbell identified things and made it plain to the management and Shell at that time that these things were wrong and dangerous," he said.
"If Shell, in 1999, had listened to what he said and taken action then, then the two guys wouldn't have died."
In a statement, Shell said it launched an independent internal investigation last year following concerns expressed by Mr Campbell.
It said: "This recent investigation, which we took very seriously, showed that there had been a vigorous and significant management response to the safety review, including a detailed improvement plan with action being taken, and progress reviewed by senior management."
Frontline Scotland: The Human Price of Oil, is on BBC1 at 1900 BST on Wednesday.
|
View Full Comment Text
save preference
Comments (1 of 1)