PETER MACKAYHAZARDOUS CARGO BULLETIN

THE WHY WE DO THE THINGS WE DO

OR….

“WHAT’S THE WORST THAT CAN HAPPEN….?”

ValuJet Flight 592Everglades, FloridaMay 1996

SOLAS

Torrey CanyonMarch 18, 1967

Exxon ValdezMarch 24, 1989

Costa ConcordiaJanuary 2012

Nypro cyclohexane oxidation unit, Flixborough, UKJune 1, 1974

ICMESA chemical plant, Seveso, ItalyJuly 10, 1976

Bhopal, IndiaDecember 1984

Los Alfaques campsite, SpainJuly 11, 1978

Texas City, TXMarch 23, 2005

Buncefield, UKDecember 11, 2005

Bayamón, PROctober 23, 2009

IOC oil depot, Jaipur, IndiaOctober 29, 2009

CHEVRON REFINERYPEMBROKE DOCK, UKJUNE 2, 2011FOUR DEAD

AKTAU, KAZAKHSTANOCTOBER 11, 2011EIGHT DEAD

CARLSTADT, NJ, USANOVEMBER 7, 2011NINE INJURED

ORICAPORT KEMBLA, NSW, AUSTRALIADECEMBER 16, 2011

ODFJELL TERMINALROTTERDAM, NETHERLANDSJANUARY 25, 2012

STOLT VALORARABIAN GULFMARCH 15, 2012ONE DEAD

Common themes:

- Taking short cuts- Being ‘helpful’- “Why don’t we try…”- Commercial/time pressure- Lack of/ineffective training

All

Failure to follow procedureIncreased likelihood of something going wrong

In a high-hazard environment, ANY and ALL operations can be SAFETY-CRITICAL

So how do we get this message over?

PROCEDURESWritten, clear, rehearsed

CHECKLISTSAs an aide-memoire, not a box-ticking process

TRAININGTo reinforce the message

peter@hazardouscargo.com@TheMackay