Buncefield fire: Oil storage firm found guilty of safety breaches

[CHIMO]

A company controlled by Total and Chevron has been found guilty of host of grave safety failures that led to the Buncefield oil depot explosion and the largest fire in peacetime Europe.

Hertfordshire Oil Storage Limited (HOSL), which was owned by the oil conglomerates, was found guilty of failing to prevent major accidents and limit their effects, it was revealedtoday.

The guilty verdict followed one of the most complex corporate criminal trials of its kind and is a major blow for Total, the major shareholder.

It will also intensify global concern over the safety practices of international companies. BP's chief executive, Tony Hayward, is under unrelenting pressure over safety lapses suspected to have caused the Deepwater Horizon oil rig disaster, the cause of the largest offshore oil spill in US history.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2010/jun/18/buncefield-fire-oil-company-guilty

[dipsydoodle]

1. I'm only a few miles from that as the crow flys

You would not believe what that fucking bang was like a 6.30am on a Sunday morning. For an insant when the cloud of gas exploded it took all of the oxygen out of the air and created a vacuum which bounced all the rooftops. The black cloud lasted about a week before it drifted over to Europe.