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Dalgety Bay, Fife · Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court
A technician accidentally pressed a button on a remote-control handset during propane loading operations at the Braefoot Bay Marine Terminal, causing a quick-release coupling to disconnect prematurely. Around 250 to 300 kilograms of liquid propane was released under pressure in seconds, burning a ship's engineer nearby.
Injuries: Cold burns to 10 to 13 percent of body surface area, requiring hospitalisation and further treatment after repatriation.
Control of Major Accident Hazards Regulations 2015, Regulation 5(1); Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, Section 33(1)(c)
“Shell had adapted procedures from its old equipment and applied them to a new and fundamentally different system, without carrying out adequate safety checks.”
Operating procedures must be re-validated whenever equipment changes, not carried over unchanged from an older system.
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