§ Mr. Delargyasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much inflammable material is stored at West Thurrock and Purfleet; and what risk there is of explosion there.
§ Mr. SharplesThe only information available in the Home Office relates to petroleum installations licensed under the Petroleum (Consolidation) Act, 1928. A total of 567,500 water tons of petroleum spirit and 498,940 water tons of other inflammable petroleum products is stored at the three major petroleum installations in West Thurrock and Purfleet. An explosion can occur if petroleum spirit vapour, in certain concentrations in air, becomes ignited, but the licensing conditions for petroleum installations are 339W designed to reduce such risks to a minimum.