Living in the shadow of Buncefield

By Clifford Thompson
BBC News

The explosion at the Buncefield oil depot in Hertfordshire in 2005 was described as the worst in the UK since the end of World War II. Two years on, what does the future hold for businesses and residents affected by the blast?

The smoke plume was visible across much of the south east

To the west of the M1 motorway, close to Hemel Hempstead, lies the Buncefield oil depot.

A high fence shields what is left of the oil depot after the explosion. It was caused, an inquiry said, by petrol from a storage tank overflowing and igniting.

Scores of homes and businesses were damaged by the massive explosion and shockwave, and the resulting fire in the massive tanks burned for days.

Fortunately no-one was killed in the blast - although 43 people were injured - which happened early on a Sunday morning when the site was not particularly busy.

My constituents have suffered long enough Mike Penning MP

Buncefield is operated by Hertfordshire Oil Storage Limited - a joint venture between Total and Chevron. It is also occupied by BP, Shell and the British Pipeline Agency.

Much of what was damaged by the blast has been decommissioned. But the incident has had a long-term effect on the lives of people who lived nearby.

See map of Buncefield site

For many life has never been the same.

Heidi Brazier and her family have spent about a year in total since 2005 living in a hotel while their blast-damaged house undergoes repairs.

The worst damage: to the north and north west of the site

They moved back into their house on 30 November, but repairs have still to be completed.

Despite all this, they are not planning to move from the area.

Ms Brazier says it is impossible to put a figure on what her family has lost over the past two years.

"Every aspect of family life is affected," she says. Two of her children have had to prepare for GCSEs in a hotel room.

"How on earth can they open the site when they don't know what went wrong?" she asks.

Cafe owner Asif Killi lives and works near Buncefield

She says the family has been left traumatised by the explosion and the disruption to their lives, which they have tried to deal with through counselling and, in some cases, medication.

The long process of re-building her house has involved doors and window being replaced and the back extension had to be pulled down and re-built.

Asef Killi lives near Buncefield and owns a cafe close to the site. He said when the explosion happened he thought the ceiling had come down into his bedroom.

His business was closed for four days and trade was very quiet after the fire. He says he has never been paid any compensation.

Internet clothing company Asos has stayed in the area

The warehouse of internet fashion company Asos took the full force of the explosion.

Much of its stock was damaged by water from sprinklers and it had to close for five weeks.

But chief executive Nick Robertson decided to rebuild his business and to stay in Buncefield for the time being.

He has had to deal with the bursting of the dotcom bubble and the explosion, but the firm has recovered and generated a profit of £2.4m, according to its latest figures.

But local Conservative MP Mike Penning believes Buncefield has become the "forgotten disaster".

2007: the devastation is still visible from the perimeter road

He says there has been no prosecution, no compensation and many of his constituents are no further forward with their lives.

The inquiry into the explosion has taken two years, and is still ongoing. Mr Penning would have preferred it to be held in public.

He adds: "I would like to see the investigation wrapped up as soon as possible... my constituents have suffered long enough."

Mr Penning is concerned that BP has plans to put its part of the site back into operation, as some local residents fear disaster could strike again.

Lord Newton, the independent chairman of the board supervising the investigation into the Buncefield oil depot incident, says the investigation has been thorough and that findings have been reported as they have emerged.

But he says it is not the role of the board to decide on prosecutions. "The investigation is well advanced and a decision will be taken by the HSE and the EA," he says.

"This has been a very thorough business accumulating evidence, giving people the opportunity to have their say.

"This can take a lot of time."

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