Buncefield Major Incident Investigation report

The Buncefield Major Incident Investigation Board published its Initial Report to the Health and Safety Commission on 13^th July 2006. The report confirmed the findings of the three Progress Reports, which shows that the main explosion probably resulted from the ignition of a vapour cloud coming from Tank 912 in the north west corner of the Hertfordshire Oil Storage Ltd site, formed as a result of the overfill of the tank with unleaded petrol during a transfer from a pipeline.

Although the reasons for the size of the explosion- far in excess of anything thought probable at an installation of this type - require further research, the Report highlights three areas for action:

design and operation of storage sites
emergency response to incidents
advice to planning authorities

On the latter point, the Report stated “ A measured approach is justified since the likelihood of a similar explosion remains low, and should be made lower still by a programme of actions designed to increase the reliability of primary containment. In our view, the importance of reaching conclusions that are considered, costed and sustainable greatly outweighs any benefit that may be derived from coming to summary judgements”

MIIB Initial Report July 2006