By Michael McCaughan
On Sep 24th Shell E&P Ireland will proudly host a site visit from businesses attending the Annual Health and Safety Conference of the National Irish Safety Organisation (NISO). The assembled guests will marvel at the scale of the Bellanaboy terminal, regarded by NISO as an exemplary, safe industrial project. The NISO’s aim is “Promoting a culture of excellence in workplace health & safety” and Shell, with an alleged one million hours worked injury free in Mayo, have been rewarded with this official visit. While the safety and wellbeing of workers is critical in evaluating the success of a project, the health and safety of the wider community is, in the long term, an even greater priority. Shell has already stated that once the construction phase is over the Corrib gas field will employ just 50 people. Who will look after the safety and health concerns of 10,000 people who live in the area, drink the water, breathe the air and, in particular, the several hundred people who live in the 79 homes located along the 500 metre ‘kill zone’ acknowledged by Shell during the recent oral hearing into the proposed onshore pipeline route?
Shell’s ‘injury free’ record ignores the beating of Willie Corduff (inside the Shell work zone), the stroke suffered by Paddy McGrath after the Pollathomish pier incident and the broken back suffered by Ed Collins when he was tossed into a drain outside the Bellanaboy terminal site. Corduff and McGrath’s injuries occurred when the two men were peacefully requesting the right to see Shell’s legal permissions to work in the area, hardly a subversive demand. All these injuries ultimately occurred because Shell has refused to engage in a meaningful process of dialogue and consultation with the community, proceeding through force instead.
The dominant feeling that the state is facilitating the project, rather than monitoring it, has forced the community to spend months and years researching and exploring issues for themselves. It is this remarkable accumulated knowledge which impressed An Bord Pleanala and forced them to delay a decision on the pipeline route due to “the complex issues involved.” Those complex issues were raised at the first Bord Pleanala hearing in 2002 and they remain just as relevant in 2009, numerous fatal flaws in a project which has been rushed through to impress foreign investors rather than reassure locals that it will be operated in a competent manner.
Erris News presents a small sample of the health and safety breaches committed by Shell, readily acknowledging that the vigilance of individuals cannot substitute state esponsibility in matters involving public health and safety.
-Oct 2007 -Unauthorised drilling on a Special Area of Conservation (SAC)
-Jan/Feb 2007 -Dangerous levels of aluminium in Carrowmore Lake
-Mar 2007-Diesel leak from a generator at Bellanaboy terminal spilled toxic poison into nearby stream.
The three incidents outlined above are bad enough in their own right but insult was heaped on injury when Shell refused to take responsibility. The diesel spill was spotted by members of the community which called a 24-hour helpline which took 72 hours to respond. The first reaction of the company was to deny anything had happened and then quietly hire a tanker to pump the diesel several days later. The unauthorized drilling constitutes an offence punishable by law, which should, at the very least, have triggered an immediate halt to the project. However Shell PR officials dismissed the event as “an oversight” due to “miscommunication.” When Gardai arrived on the scene they threatened to arrest members of the community whose vigilance had resulted in the alarm being raised. If the company is prepared to lie about minor incidents which occur during project construction, is it likely to own up to more dangerous breaches once the gas if flowing? Shell’s track record worldwide leaves little room for optimism. The company’s policy is to deny liability for spillages and disasters, fight the cases through every possible court and then refuse to pay compensation awarded against them.
However one would imagine that well publicized health and safety concerns over the gas project would inspire Shell to do its utmost in implementing safeguards in Erris. A spate of recent incidents suggests precisely the opposite;
-On 22nd April Portaloos overturned in the wind on the day Shell restarted work at Glengad. However “Due to the aggravated situation onsite” (ie local people requesting to see legal permission for the work taking place) “Roadbridge were unable to implement the standard Emergency Response Procedure.” Is the NISO aware of this incapacity? The overturned loos released 15 litres of chemicals into the atmosphere.
-On June 24th, during dredging works on the causeway, Shell reported “a minor oil leak” when a hydraulic hose burst and discharged 8lt of hydraulic oil. But fear not, Shell implemented its ‘Oil Spill Contingency Plan’ and “contamination was primarily confined to the causeway.” That will come as good news to the animal and plant life which swallowed the poison.
-On July 30th an incident report recorded a “hydro-test chemical additive” spill but a report has yet to be presented on the incident. This chemical additive is unlikely to improve your health but Shell announced, without fear of sanction or further inquiry, that there was “no ecological impact” associated with this spillage. The NISO has been remiss in its modest praise of Shell’s safety record, as any company which can spill chemicals into the sea with no ecological impact should be declared Masters of the Universe.
-On August 16th one of Shell’s vessels ran aground, spilling 10lt of fuel into the sea. This is the same company which plans to pump tonnnes of toxic waste back into the sea from the refinery site when it is operating at full blast, claiming zero risk.
In its most recent mea culpa, Shell acknowledged that on August 23rd another spillage occurred, this time “at the boundary of the SAC.” This is the same company which drilled through an SAC in a previous “oversight.” How accurate can we expect their reading of an SAC boundary to be? The Shell person responsible for writing up these reports has evidently invested in a Thesaurus Dictionary and Erris residents will be glad to hear that there was no spillage this time as 13 litres of hydraulic oil was merely “lost.” Shell should place an ad on Mid-West radio and offer a reward for its safe return.
There was a further “loss” the next day during a botched refueling operation at Ballyglass Pier. By the time you read this, there will be more incidents, spillages and losses but the slow, steady drip of health and safety breaches is like Rasputin taking his little doses of poison until, having declared himself in rude health, he suddenly keels over in final agony.
So, the good people of the NISO will visit the Bellanaboy refinery site on Sep 24th at 1pm. It is unlikely that Shell will be handing out incident reports to their admiring visitors, leaving the hard working locals with no other option but to inform the visitors themselves. The NISO has declared its mission to be that of “Playing a leading role in advancing the national health & safety agenda.” The Erris News distribution network, notoriously efficient, will hopefully bring this issue to the attention of the NISO but just in case, concerned citizens can call the NISO themselves and let them know, at 01-4659760.
Ends.
