WSH Alert – Collapsed Concrete Blocks Injured Workers

Incident

Four persons were injured when concrete blocks crashed into a site office they were working in. The blocks had been acting as a retaining structure for a stockpile of aggregates at a neighbouring site. Their collapse damaged the dividing boundary hoarding and the site office.

Preliminary findings showed that there was no reinforcement between the concrete blocks. The retaining wall could have given way under the high lateral pressure aggravated by the stocking up of the stockpile and the heavy rain that occurred before the incident.

Figure 1: Overview of the scene after the incident

Recommendations*

 

Stakeholders involved in similar set-ups should consider the following to help prevent an incident recurrence.

• Get a professional engineer (PE) to design the retaining structure and certify that it is adequate for its intended purpose;
• Ensure that the stockpile’s setup is proper, safe and not over stacked;
• Identify and control all possible hazards and risks associated with the works; and
• Establish proper water drainage for the stockpile to prevent build-up of hydrostatic pressure

 

Source: WSH Alert from WSH Council dated 6 October 2011

Pulau Bukom aftermath: Shell chairman remains calm under fire

For 32 hours last month, Singaporeans watched with rapt attention as a fire burned on an island 5km off the southern shore of Singapore.

While firefighters battled to contain the conflagration at Shell's Pulau Bukom refinery, an eight-man strong crisis team huddled inside a room at Shell's headquarters on 83 Clemenceau Avenue, miles away from the action. Heading this team was Mr Lee Tzu Yang, the 56-year-old chairman of Shell companies in Singapore.

For the man facing the largest refinery fire in Singapore for more than 20 years, the pressure was on. There was a hint of irony too in the situation - Mr Lee is also the chairman of Singapore's Workplace Safety and Health Council. But if the heat was on him, one would have been hard-pressed to see it.

Shell's response to the crisis turned out to be so slick and well-oiled that Mr Lee said he did not have trouble sleeping about four or five hours each night, and did not even need to set foot on the island until the fire went out on Sept 29.

Background story

Shell chairman takes leave from workplace safety council
Shell Singapore chairman Lee Tzu Yang, who also helms the Workplace Safety and Health Council, took a temporary leave of absence from the industry body last Monday.
He told The Sunday Times that the move was to avoid any conflicts of interest as the inquiry into the cause of the Pulau Bukom fire gets under way.
'I wanted to make absolutely clear from the beginning that I do not seek to, and will not, have any influence whatsoever on the investigation, and Shell will fully cooperate,' said Mr Lee.
'This leave of absence will also enable me to better focus on Shell's recovery efforts.'
The blaze, which engulfed a pump house at the oil giant's half-a-million barrel-a-day refinery on Pulau Bukom, burned for 32 hours two weeks ago. As a result, parts of the refinery - Shell's largest in the world - have been temporarily shut down.
Investigations by the Ministry of Manpower and Singapore Civil Defence Force are still ongoing.
Mr Lee said he is confident Shell will take the lessons learnt from the fire in its stride and be the better for it.
'Safety is too important for us to shrink from the responsibility to make this message heard,' he said. 'If we do not step up to this, we will not succeed in making Singapore a leader for safety and health in the workplace.'
The 18-member council was established in 2008 to help raise workplace safety and health standards among local industry players.
The Manpower Ministry said yesterday that Maritime Sustainability chief executive Heng Chiang Gnee will be acting chairman of the council.

Source: The Sunday Times (9 Oct 2011)

Man buried in Jurong Island sandpit dies

A safety officer died at Jurong Island on Wednesday after being partially buried in a four-storey sandpit.

Fahmy Roslee's body was partly covered by sand and seawater at the Alstom Power Singapore worksite when SCDF personnel found him.

According to The New Paper, the 21-year-old had gone down to the pit to conduct an investigation at 4:30pm, after finding out that seawater was leaking into the pit.

On one side of pit, situated next to the sea, was a wall with metal sheet piles to control the flow of seawater, which was used to cool machinery.

A few minutes later, Roslee's colleagues spotted him lying on the bottom of the pit, with sand filling it up at the edges.

An eyewitness told the tabloid that workers gathering around the pit, thinking of how to help Roslee out.

Two excavators were deployed but later recalled because they were not of any help to the situation.

SCDF personnel, after receiving a call at 4:43pm, arrived shortly after to survey the site and determine how to rescue Roslee.

At 7pm, personnel from the Disaster Assistance and Rescue Team (DART) was lowered into the pit to get Roslee out.

A total of five DART personnel were deployed to retrieve Roslee.

An SCDF spokesman said that the officers used a metal cage that was lowered by a crane to get to him. They used their hands to remove the sand from Roslee's body before placing him on the stretcher.

His body was then raised back to ground level in the metal cage.

Roslee was pronounced dead on arrival at 8pm.

It is not known if he died from a fall or from being buried in the sand, but investigations are ongoing.
The Ministry of Manpower has suspended on-site sub-structure and temporary earth retaining works.

Source: Yahoo! News

Economy may lose more than $100m if refinery is closed for a month: Economists

Pulau Bukom Shell refinery fire: Counting the losses      Published on Oct 5, 2011 in the Straits Times

 

What Shell's Pulau Bukom offshore petroleum complex in Singapore looked like after a fire was put out on Sept 29. -- PHOTO: REUTERS

By Robin Chan

 

The all clear was given on Shell's Pulau Bukom refinery site on Tuesday, even as operations remain in the process of being shut down. An all-clear safety siren was sounded at 2pm. However, the area around what is known as pump house 43, which is where the fire broke out seven days ago, is still under 'strict control' according to an internal staff memo.

The local economy could suffer a hit of more than a $100 million if the massive Bukom refinery closes for a month, economists have said. The oil giant's plant, which refines 500,000 barrels a day and is Shell's largest in the world, was shut down following a 32-hour fire last week.

Economists looked at the value added to the economy from the petroleum refining and petrochemicals industries, to estimate the cost of closing the plant. Naturally, the costs will vary depending on how long the closure lasts and how much economic activity is lost.

Preparation work likely cause of Bukom fire

The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) has found that the 32-hour-long fire at Shell's Pulau Bukom refinery was caused by preparation work for maintenance.

An investigation conducted by the MOM's Occupational Safety and Health Inspectorate found that a suction truck that was involved in siphoning residual oil through a pipeline could have cause a spark and ignited the oil, reported The Straits Times.

The fire eventually spread and became a lot bigger within the area of the pump house. The petroleum company has confirmed that it they have declared force majeure on a few clients as more investigations continue.
Force majeure is a clause used commonly in contracts that frees parties from liability when an uncontrollable event happens.
Shell's safety procedures are also under scrutiny by MOM.
There were no casualties resulting from the fire that started last Wednesday last until Thursday night.

Source: www.asiaone.com 4 Oct 2011

Traces of fuel vapour remain in affected area after Shell Bukom fire

<>Picture taken on 30 September. Foam used by firefighters in the vicinity of the pump house (photo taken from Shell Singapore website)<> <>SINGAPORE: The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) says traces of fuel vapour remain in the affected area, two days after the blaze at Shell's Pulau Bukom oil refinery was extinguished on Thursday after a 32-hour battle. The oil giant and authorities are monitoring the situation, and a fresh batch of firefighters was sent to the island on Saturday morning. Giving an update, Shell said foaming operations are continuing at parts of the incident site, with damage confined to the vicinity of the pump house. It added other facilities and units are not affected and only essential operating personnel are on the island. Shell said it's too early to assess how much the fire will cost the company. It said efforts are ongoing to bring the situation back to normal at the refinery, the company's biggest. The company does not expect any shutdown units to be restarted until a thorough investigation has been conducted and safety is assured. The Ministry of Manpower has stepped in to investigate the cause of the fire. Shell said it deeply regrets the incident and is talking to customers to address product supply and minimise any potential impact on them. Source: CNA/ir <>

Gov't probes cause of Bukom refinery fire

Smoke and flames rise from the Royal Dutch Shell's Pulau Bukom offshore petroleum complex in Singapore on Wednesday 28 September 2011. Another explosion occurred Thursday, 29 September 2011 around noon local time.

(AP Photo/Sharon Tan)

The government is investigating the cause of oil giant Shell's recent Pulau Bukom refinery fire, which saw more than 100 firefighters battling the erratic two-day blaze.

Two investigators from the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) have been deployed to the island and are working with Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) officers.

The ministry said on Friday it would work with Shell to examine its safety framework and tighten safety standards to prevent another such occurrence, reported The Straits Times.

MOM officers are also looking for the cause of the fire, which began in the pump room that had interconnecting pipes with fuel compounds.

The fire, which started on Wednesday 1:15pm, was finally extinguished at 9:18pm on Thursday after 32 hours. The SCDF used water jets and foam to disperse traces of fuel vapor that was still in the air on Friday.

Six Shell firefighters who were injured while fighting the initial outbreak have gone back to their normal duties after medical treatment.

SCDF said it would keep 100 firefighters and 34 vehicles on the island as precaution.

Shell sources also confirmed with the paper that the refinery is still progressively shutting down but a spokesperson said no timeline has been given for how long it will continue or when the investigations will be completed.

Wire reports have reported that the shutdown could last a month.

Deputy Prime Minister and Home Affair Minister Teo Chee Hean visited the refinery for an hour on Friday. He told the paper there was good cooperation between SCDF and Shell, as well as in the industry.

"The fire has been extinguished. The key thing now is to make sure that it does not reignite, and the residual hydrocarbons from the fire are properly dealt with," he was quoted as saying.

"We also want to make sure that the risks are properly handled and reduced. Going forward, we should learn from the lessons and prevent the occurrence of such fires," he noted.

Pulau Bukom is Shell's largest refinery worldwide. It processes 500,000 barrels a day with 90 per cent of the products exported to the Asia Pacific region and beyond.

 

Source: Yahoo News