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Posted By John Murphy
I recently received this from Steve Sumner at the Employers Organisation who asked for it to be shared with others.
"Since the article on mobile phone use was published in the August 2002 edition of the LAU newsletter, HSE has established that the three Shell incidents referred to in this article are bogus. The offending article has now been removed from the newsletter on the LAU website, and there will be a reference to this in the next newsletter which will be out early in October.
However the advice which should be given on this issue remains the same: i.e. that it is good practice to switch off mobile phones before entering any hazardous areas (i.e. dispensing and tanker unloading areas) at petrol filling stations.
LAU = Local Authority unit
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Posted By Andy
Would anybody care to comment on the reasons for this bogus information.
If you cannot rely on LA circulars....
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Posted By Jim Walker
Can any expert out there confirm that the scenarios were feasable?
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Posted By Bob Pedley
The incidents might be bogus but I believe the advice is sound.
Mobile phones are not rated to be used in hazardous areas full stop. All chemical plants and refineries that have flammable risks will not permit you to carry a mobile phone on the plant.
The potential for a flammable atmosphere to be created during refuelling is real, therefore lets be proactive and remove any ignition source from the equation.
I would still refer to these as real situations - they get the right message across.
Bob
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Posted By Andy
Bob,
Of course the circular provided good advice and I passed this on, a number of people took it on board, others were actually shocked and have re-considered phones in petrol stations.
However, the real issue is that the information was false and mislead us. Was this done with good intentions or otherwise?
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Posted By Robert K Lewis
Totally agree - we need to have confidence in the accuracy of reporting or we might as well ignore everything that is written in what we find to be suspect sources: such as any LA guidance!!
Bob
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Posted By John Murphy
The LAU is part of HSE:
The LAU is a free standing Unit within the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). HSE and local authorities (LAs) are responsible for the enforcement of health and safety in Great Britain under the general direction of the Health and Safety Commission (HSC). HSE and LAs work in partnership to secure HSC’s objectives. LAU works with the HSE/LA Enforcement Liaison Committee (HELA) to give national advice, information and guidance to LAs. The Unit is the central focus for the development of LA enforcement policy and also provides LA enforcement officers with training and support.
It strikes me that the HSE (LAU) acted in good faith and then admitted it when they realised they had got it wrong - commendable in my view. The important thing is that the advice about using mobile phones in garages still stands.
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Posted By Andy
Dear all,
I would like to make clear on that I do not doubt the integrity of the LAU or LA's. I realise that they acted in good faith and passed on this information. Much as we did, when we passed this information on to our employees/customers.
We did not wait for a week or so to ensure the information was valid, we considered it, realised the importance and passed it on, as did the LAU...
I am more interested in where the information came from originally, who passed it to the LAU, and if the information was incorrect, why was it given in the way it was.
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Posted By Robert K Lewis
I am also interested to know why it was thought correct, published and then corrected after research!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Bob
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Posted By wendy mcgarrity
I Must read the discussion forum more regularly. Then I wouldn't have featured these "incidents" while delivering training yesterday! (Though I must say it caught the attention of the group beuatifully....)Hopefully, the message to switch off mobiles in garages remains clear even if the source of the Shell Scary Stories is less so.
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