Written question asked by Bob Spink (Independent (affiliation)) on Thursday, 10 December 2009, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Wednesday, 16 December 2009. It was answered by Jonathan Shaw (Labour) on Tuesday, 5 January 2010 on behalf of the Department for Work and Pensions.

Industrial Health and Safety: Hazardous Substances

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what safety measures will be put in place by BP for the duration of its contract to lease the Oikos terminal on Canvey Island.

Answer: [holding answer 16 December 2009]: Oikos Storage Ltd. will remain the operator of the fuel storage facility on Canvey Island for the purposes of the Control of Major Accident Hazards Regulations 1999 (COMAH) and will have overall responsibility for safety throughout the duration the contract with BP Oil UK Ltd. As a user of the facility to store fuel, BP Oil UK Ltd. will be obliged to co-operate with Oikos Storage to assist and enable them to meet their responsibilities as COMAH operator.Oikos Storage Ltd. will be required under the COMAH to put in place all measures necessary to prevent major accidents and limit their consequences to persons and the environment. This will include implementing and maintaining the minimum safety and environmental standards for fuel storage sites that have been developed in response to the Major Incident Investigation Board recommendations following the explosion and fires at the Buncefield fuel storage site in December 2005, and recently published in the Process Safety Leadership Group's (PSLG) final report. The PSLG report is available on the HSE website.

Secondary information