Probe finds Nynas refinery fire was likely caused by pump failure
A fire that this month led to the temporary closure of the Nynas oil refinery in Dundee was probably caused by the failure of a seal which allowed hundreds of litres of hot oil to escape, it has been revealed.
- By Bruce Robbins
- Published in the Courier : 23.11.10
- Published online : 23.11.10 @ 07.39pm
Although an investigation into the precise cause of the blaze — the third at the refinery within a year — has yet to be concluded, the initial findings are that a faulty pump on a distillation unit was to blame.
Engineers from the UK and the company's Swedish headquarters were joined by members of the health and safety executive, environment watchdog SEPA and Tayside Fire and Rescue in launching the probe into the November 10 blaze.
A Nynas spokesman said this detailed investigation was still taking place.
However he added, "Although the investigation has not yet been completed it seems most likely that the fire was caused by the failure of a pump on the distillation unit in the early hours...and this led to failure of the pump's seal.
"As a result, a quantity of hot oil escaped — much less than has been originally estimated — closer to 500 litres than the 2000 litres originally reported.
"The fire that started as a result of leaking hot oil caused some minor damage to the process plant and service equipment and this was shut down immediately. It has remained shut down during the investigation, allowing repairs to be carried out."
Nynas hopes to be able to restart production this week once a comprehensive evaluation and risk assessment has been carried out.
Tayside Fire and Rescue has completed its investigation into the incident and the results of that will be used to ensure the fire brigade's procedures for dealing with refinery fires are as up to date as possible.
Area manager David Stapley said, "We will be having a meeting very shortly with Nynas to discuss what our findings are. From that, we will implement the necessary actions and plans to ensure the safety of the public.
"The public can be assured that we are well capable in terms of the resources we have to deal with such an incident."
The blaze at the East Camperdown Street plant followed significant fires within days of each other last December. Fire crews also attended a minor boiler fire in July as a precaution.
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