§ Mrs. Elaine Kellett-Bowmanasked the Secretary of State for Employment what progress the Health and Safety Executive has made in conducting the inquiry directed by the Health and Safety Commission under section 14(2)(a) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 as to the causes of the accident at Abbeystead on 23 May; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. GummerSince my statement on 24 May, at columns 1249–53, the number of people who died as a consequence of the explosion at the Abbeystead water pumping station on 23 May has, sadly, risen to 15.
I understand that the chairman of the Health and Safety Commission has today announced that the Health and Safety Executive is reasonably certain that the explosion in the valve house at the Abbeystead plant was caused by the following sequence of events.
Methane gas entered the tunnel from the surrounding ground, possibly in association with ground water and accumulated in the highest part of the pipework system at the Abbeystead end.When the water pumps at the River Lune end were switched on, water displaced the methane and forced it out into the valve house. A flammable mixture of methane and air was formed in the valve house and ignited by some means as yet unestablished.The investigation team, comprising fire and explosion experts, mining specialists, electrical and civil engineers and others, is continuingly its painstaking thorough examination of the site.The intention of the commission is to publish a full report on the disaster in the autunm.
The vital job now is to ensure that the lesson of this tragedy is quickly learnt so that a similar disaster can never happen again. In my statement on 24 May, I made reference to the half a dozen or so installations that might be thought parallel. The HSE has identified possibly similar water transfer schemes and advised the water authorities about the precautions to be taken.
The executive's national industry group with responsibility for the water industry will monitor their response. Inspectors will check the adequacy of the measures taken with support from fire and explosion experts of the Field consultant groups where necessary.