Shutdown after refinery blast

Grangemouth: One of Scotland's biggest industrial sites

BP Amoco has closed two plastics plants at its Grangemouth petrochemicals complex after an incident which has increased fears about safety at the refinery.

The company has been severely criticised after a high-pressure steam pipe fractured, sparking a full-scale emergency.

One person said the noise from the pipe, heard miles from the plant, was like "a jumbo jet at full thrust" and it lasted for more than an hour.

BP Amoco is playing down the incident, which began just before midnight on Wednesday, and denied there had been any risk to public safety.

The temporary shutdown could mean extra "flaring" but a spokesman said the company was doing all it could to reduce the smoke and flame.

Michael Connarty: "Dangerous failure"

The Scottish Environment Protection Agency, whose inspectors are at the plant, said the flare could be smokier than usual because the company is short of steam, normally used to improve combustion.

Falkirk East Labour MP, Michael Connarty, said people were losing confidence in safety at the huge complex, and he described it as the fifth "major incident" in the past year.

"This was a failure, it's not like anyone knocked the pipe, bashed the pipe or that the pipe was in a construction site," he said.

"This is a failure in a piece of kit that should not break and it's a dangerous one because it's alongside a main road.

"I have absolutely no doubt it's always the same at BP that they are a hair's breadth from an injury or death because it is just chance no-one is walking past this kind of equipment."

'Plane taking off'

Colin Reid, a member of the Grangemouth management team, said: "Unfortunately last night we had a leak in a steam pipe just inside our fence, at the edge of the installation on the southside of Bo'Ness road.

"As a consequence of that there was a significant amount of steam drifting across the road and in conjunction with the local police we decided it was prudent to close the road.

"There was also a very loud noise at the site for some time which we dealt with as quickly as we could.

"The steam was at a fairly high pressure, but was what we call a moderate pressure steam line, and of course we have many steam lines on a facility of this size.

Grangemouth's recent record

29 July, 1999
Complete power failure

20 November, 1999
Problem with catalytic cracker, blow-out followed

25 November, 1999 Problem in a gas compressor, out of action for 10 days

26 January, 2000
Two boilers broken, major incident control committee on alert

29 May, 2000
Complete power failure, MICC on alert

He added: "Of itself the steam isn't dangerous or toxic in any way, but certainly the effects of the steam as it is released from the pipe is to make a noise, somewhat like a plane taking off."

Local resident Bill Simpson, who lives half a mile from the complex, said: "Quite frankly, it was like sitting under the fuselage of a jumbo jet at full thrust.

"It's unacceptable for people to be saying this morning 'a steam pipe fractured.' This noise was terrific, it went on for more than an hour.

"But it's only one in a series of incidents at this BP complex in the last 18 months."

The complex began operation in the 1920s and has grown into one of Scotland's biggest industrial sites. It employs about 2,500 people, producing 1.8 million tonnes of petrochemicals and processing almost 10 million tonnes of crude oil annually.

Mr Simpson added: "Any giant company like BP Amoco has to understand that its employees are drawn from the community.

"They are therefore well aware of cutbacks in people, continued automation and real concern about living in the shadow of this facility."

An investigation has been launched, but management has refused to speculate on what may lie behind the incident which comes just days after production at the complex was halted by a power failure.