Until the high hazard industry learns the lessons of the past it will always be vulnerable to major incidents on the scale of Flixborough, a health and safety adviser for the trade union Unite warned on Thursday.
Bud Hudspith told delegates at the Tank Storage Association’s annual conference and exhibition in Coventry that “lessons had to be learned”.
Referring to incidents such as Flixborough in 1974 and Piper Alpha in 1988, Mr Hudspith asked: “Why is it that we are still talking about these same issues?”
“Let’s once and for all learn these lessons.”
Mr Hudspith told delegates from the fuels, chemicals, edible oils and fats storage industries, that the “time had come” for change.
“I feel very frustrated, sure lots of other people do and people at the HSE feel frustrated.”
Warning of future incidents, Mr Hudspith added: “Sadly I suspect we are going to be looking next year or the year after and saying that is because some failed to do what they knew they had to.”
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