Heard the same - all the pheasants set off for about five minutes. I'm 27 miles from the oil depot that is reported to have exploded.
Expect that motor fuel deliveries in the area will be affected.
|
just seen it on tv....
--
www.storme.co.uk
|
One authority (police?) stated the fumes are not toxic.
In that case, neither are car exhaust fumes.
Oz (as was)
|
|
|
|
|
Was also woken by what I took to be a huge gust of wind rattling the doors and windows - we are at least 10 miles away. Not sure what proportion of road fuel comes from here but it's a substantial depot fed by pipelines and supplies will presumably be affected materially.
|
|
Two to one that someone on this forum will be complaining about the M1 being shut by the end of the day.
|
I was woken in LEEDS this morning, with my housemates wandering around the house trying to work out what had happened. We thought it was someone messing around with fireworks nearby, to be honest.
Can only imagine what it must have been like only 20 miles away.
|
|
|
|
|
It looks like the smoke cloud has reached south London-it's getting dark here!
|
From BBC site:
Motorists urged not to panic-buy
Police and petrol companies have urged motorists not to panic-buy fuel after the explosions at the Buncefield depot.
As reports come in of long queues at petrol stations, authorities said there were sufficient alternative supplies for London and the South East.
The Petrol Retailers Association said there would be only "short term disruption to supply".
"No-one should be concerned about availability for fuel over the next few days," it added.
The Buncefield site may be a main supplier for the South East and London regions, but there were a number of other depots and storage facilities that would be able to fill the gap, authorities said.
We have no indication at this stage that this explosion will cause fuel shortages.
"We strongly advise against this as recent events have shown that panic-buying alone can cause fuel shortages."
|
at 12:30, Northeast Surrey, dark layered cloud patches are drifting over, its the fire, you can smell it, and it has very sharp edges to the clouds.
----------------------------------------
TourVanMan < yes its RF reborn >
|
Can I use my foglights (sorry sporty lights) now?
----------------------------------------
TourVanMan < yes its RF reborn >
|
|
An 'informed source' has just told BBC News 24 that the smoke from the fire is not toxic and does not present a health hazard!! So, no breathing gear for the firemen, and they'll be collecting the stuff and putting it into gas cylinders for people with asthma to inhale in hospital. Somehow I don't think so! Who are these experts and why do we give credence to what they say?
|
Lets be clear, Its Toxic. They are trying not to panic people. If it rains we are going to get oily sooty rain on our cars down stream
----------------------------------------
TourVanMan < yes its RF reborn >
|
Those of you with long memories will remember a simular incident at the Flixborough depot, Lincolnshire in 1974.
Certainly on the same scale.
|
|
Out on my bike this morning there were already long queues forming at the open petrol stations.
|
If it hadn't been for me coming on here, I wouldn't have known it had happened!
Don't know about panic buying but its a great excuse to put fuel prices up.
I feel sorry for those to which this is going to rain upon, nice bit of acid rain. You may also get a bit of climate change in the effected areas (cooling) similar to those experienced during big volcano eruptions.
|
cooling ?
I would have thought the opposite would be the case this time of the year.
|
|
Whoops, yes. Thats more likely this time of year. Had it been summer, then it would be cooling.
|
Mum & Dad heard a booming sound in the house at High Wycombe.
Will be interesting if fuel prices & availability will be affected?!!
--
Its not what you drive, its how you drive it! :-)
|
|
I am amazed by the amount of offical information which is obviously lies, spin and conflicting info...and they have the cheek to call the Russians and Chinese!
|
Those of you with long memories will remember a simular incident at the Flixborough depot, Lincolnshire in 1974. Certainly on the same scale.
>>
Let's hope not; doesn't look like it so far. 28 people killed in Flixborough 1974.
|
Wasnt flixborough a nasty chemical explosion, doixin cloud?
----------------------------------------
TourVanMan < yes its RF reborn >
|
Wasnt flixborough a nasty chemical explosion, doixin cloud? ---------------------------------------- TourVanMan < yes its RF reborn >
www.hse.gov.uk/comah/sragtech/caseflixboroug74.htm
or, from
www.gexcon.com/index.php?src=handbook/GEXHBchap1.h...m
The cause of the Flixborough explosion was a release of about 50 tons of cyclohexane, probably due to failure of a temporary pipe. The flammable cloud was ignited about 1 minute or so after the release. A very violent explosion occurred. The blast was equivalent to an explosion of about 16 tons of TNT.
|
|
Flixborough was a process plant: bellows section of pipe carrying flammable liquid at temperature failed: gas cloud ignited. Killed 32 I believe.
|
TVM - "Lets be clear, Its Toxic."
When it's all over, count up the dead, and if there are any, then it MAY have been toxic. I haven't heard of any dying under the big black cloud yet?
|
{Thread merged with "huge explosion" as discussion relating to this already going on. DD}
Just like when we had the refinery blockades , it only seems to take a few hours to bring hundreds of morons out ,desperate to squeeze fuel into their tanks.
This morning by 1030 one of the Tescos in Aylesbury had to cope with a queue of vehicles at the filling station, which reached back to the entrance. This was despite police announcements that there are contingency plans to supply filling stations normally serviced from Buncefield.
It makes me really angry and sorry for the few people who genuinely needed fueltoday. I dread to think how we will cope if our society ever suffers any real, prolonged crisis.
In this respect, it would help if filling stations switched to a rule in these circumstances:
YOU WILL BE CHARGED £15. IF YOU CAR CAN ACCEPT £15-WORTH OF FUEL ,IT WILL BE LIMITED TO THAT .IF IT CANNOT , THE BALANCE WILL GO TO CHILDREN IN NEED. IF YOU CO NOT ACCEPT THIS CONDITION, GO ELSEWHERE.
|
|
I'd make it £25.00 min charge - there are very few cars that take less than £30.00 for a proper fill up, and very few people who need >75% full at any time.
|
|
excellent idea, have these half wits got nothing better to do.
|
Well, yes.
We in the North have no doubt that fuel will be diverted to the all important South East as wanted and there should be no panicking.....
On the other hand it will have to be diverted from somewhere and I have filled up Sonata's nearly empty tank, as my personal reserve!
|
I only ever stick 20 quid in. Only ever will stick 20 quid in. When the light comes on, I put 20 quid in. No earlier.
Granted it's because it lessens the pain of filling up - paying 20 quid rather than near 50 doesn't seem as bad!
|
If only everyone did that.
Same for me really. I put £10 per week in, every Wednesday night. Shall I do any different? No. (Unless I run short of course). Thing is, putting that amount in, people probably think that I?m panic buying too, but that?s enough to get me 120miles, which is practically all the miles I?ll do in a week.
I must be honest, when I heard of it, the thought of going out and filling my tank NEVER crossed my mind. Just assumed that other remaining 4 larger storage yards would make up the ?shortage?.
|
|
According to some reports most was aviation fuel anyway!
|
|
The problem, as I see it, is that very few people give credence to any 'official' announcements (see my post above re the allegation that these fire fumes are not toxic.) Some idiot minster was shown on TV years ago feeding his daughter a wholesome beefburger (completely safe!). A few years later our beef was banned all over the world and millions of cows were slaughtered at our expense. A few weeks ago the Government said don't panic buy fuel hurricane Katrina won't affect anything and so everybody went out and brimmed their tanks - not because they needed to but because they had been officially told that thay DIDN'T need to!!
|
|
Don't joke....I may be driving down to Tasmania for Christmas rather than flying!
|
I only ever stick 20 quid in. Only ever will stick 20 quid in. When the light comes on, I put 20 quid in. No earlier. Granted it's because it lessens the pain of filling up - paying 20 quid rather than near 50 doesn't seem as bad!
I also only put 20 or 25 in,but my reason is so that I am not using more fuel by carrying the weight of fuel,especially if I already have a load in the back.
|
I only ever stick 20 quid in. Only ever will stick 20 quid in. When the light comes on, I put 20 quid in. No earlier. Granted it's because it lessens the pain of filling up - paying 20 quid rather than near 50 doesn't seem as bad!
[cynic]
If you put 50 quid in, it'll last longer... ;)
[/cynic]
|
]
If you put 50 quid in, it'll last longer... ;)
Being even more cynical, leaving more to be syphoned out by thieves.
|
Oh yeah - the er.....weight saving - well that's what I meant before - honest!
I have to say, I don't see the point in filling the tank. I drive past countless petrol stations each day so it's not like I have to go out of my way to find some.
Plus, driving with the light on takes the monotony out of driving.
|
>>We in the North have no doubt that fuel will be diverted to the all important South East as wanted and there should be no panicking.....>>
Do you not know of Ellesmere Port, Preston and various other petrol depots in the North...?
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
What\'s for you won\'t pass you by
|
We in the North have no doubt that fuel will be diverted to the all important South East as wanted and there should be no panicking.....
>>
Quite right too!
|
YOU WILL BE CHARGED £15. IF YOU CAR CAN ACCEPT £15-WORTH OF FUEL ,IT WILL BE LIMITED TO THAT .IF IT CANNOT , THE BALANCE WILL GO TO CHILDREN IN NEED. IF YOU CO NOT ACCEPT THIS CONDITION, GO ELSEWHERE.
That's actaully a really good idea..
|
Well, it didn't occur to me to panic buy until the TV warned me not to panic. Took all three cars and brimmed them, seemed the logical thing to do ;-)
--Lee .. sorry, the card says Moops.
|
|
Just as an observation, panic buying fuel in the North East doesn't seem to have reached the levels of those down south. The forecourts are a bit busier, but not exactly packed. I'd say, they're about 20% busier than normal. Are they still queuing up near you?
|
|
Despite everything, Tuesday pm locally garages had queues and some had sold out .This is more than 48 hours after the event , and after repeated messages that the only possibility of a shortage is because of panic buying.
|
|
It looks like the smoke cloud has reached south London-it's getting dark here!
Eclipse of the sun in the Camberley/Farnborough area.
Oz (as was)
|
15.26 hrs. Frome, Somerset:
To the east, what looks like a dissipated layer of thin black smoke has become increasingly visible during the afternoon. We're over 100 miles from Hemel!
The TV satellite photo showed smoke spreading east, west and south from the explosion site, but not north. It showed the westward extent of the smoke as the Newbury area at around mid-day.
Cheers, Sofa Spud
|
|
Don't worry, the almighty John Prescott is on his way tp the scene.
|
which jag is he going in?
----------------------------------------
TourVanMan < yes its RF reborn >
|
RF you cynic you. He'll take a helicopter....
...a Chinook or something to fly his Jag up there and then drive around in that.
|
The image on the Dundee Satellite imaging site of southern UK is quite bad. Here's a link (registration is free).
www.sat.dundee.ac.uk/abin/projection/ster/uk/2005/...g
It seems to have spread south in a circle bounded by Swindon, Guildford and Southend.
|
The smoke has now reached France and Holland it seems.
We know someone who lives about a mile away and it blew out his loft window, but no other damage.
It is really absolutely amazing that no one was killed and that the two seriously affected from the 39 injured will, it is stated, recover over time. The reason would appear to be the fact it was so early on a Sunday morning.
One lucky survivor stated the building in which he was in on the site collapsed all around him, but his only injury was a bruised knee after he jumped out of a window...:-)
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
What\'s for you won\'t pass you by
|
246,000 car tankfuls equiv. up in smoke!
Enough to go 107,000,000 miles at 30mpg!
4,283 times around the world!
61 times to the moon and back!
|
246,000 car tankfuls equiv. up in smoke! Enough to go 107,000,000 miles at 30mpg! 4,283 times around the world! 61 times to the moon and back!
What a horrible waste of fuel. Especially seeing it go up as a big black cloud. At least car engines burn it cleanly.
|
It's a cleaner cloud than those you see coming out of the back of HDi's ;-)
Kidding kidding!
|
It's a cleaner cloud than those you see coming out of the back of HDi's ;-) Kidding kidding!
The cheek!
I wonder how many gallons per mile of sky there are now...
|
It looks a bit like the output from the Tourvan aux heater. Less dense (the refinery fire)
----------------------------------------
TourVanMan < yes its RF reborn >
|
246,000 car tankfuls equiv. up in smoke! Enough to go 107,000,000 miles at 30mpg! 4,283 times around the world! 61 times to the moon and back!
A drop in the ocean:
about 25,000,000 cars on the road in the UK.
Fewer than 5 miles each at 30 mpg.
|
The image on the Dundee Satellite imaging site of southern UK is quite bad. Here's a link (registration is free). www.sat.dundee.ac.uk/abin/projection/ster/uk/2005/...g
Why do they need my address?
|
Some very silly comments on Channel 4. The Director of Logistics at Total said, 'we have an exemplary safety record'. No! I don't think so! What's that black cloud behind you?
'The M1 is shut, drivers have been asked to use an alternative route' What did they think drivers would do if they didn't ask them to do that?
|
In all fairness though things can and will go wrong eventually. I've not long watched some News 24 coverage when they had a panel of experts in answering e-mails, some of the comments were moronic in the extreme.
They reminded me of the woman I was talking to this morning who told me un no uncertain terms that she KNEW that powercuts should never occur anymore, and she knows because her son works with computers or something. Hmmm... the best computer in the world isn't going to be much use when there's a high voltage fault or a substation catches fire is it? As I told her, these things happen.
Blue
|
>>>>>An 'informed source' has just told BBC News 24 that the smoke from the fire is not toxic and does not present a health hazard!!
I was watching BBC World here in the tropics and the reporter announced that the smoke was "carcinogenic but not toxic". Er, is there a difference or simply a fine distinction I must have missed?! I know the Beeb's news quality is getting worse and worse with all their reporters now trained to talk up everything they see into a drama but I don't think even Fox would say that!
Get ready to be cleaning greasy soot off your vehicles for some time. Reminds me of when Saddam left Kuwait and set all those oil wells on fire. In Bahrain everything was covered with oily soot.
|
Well, I'm just glad the wind direction has changed, the plume was blowing right over my house, just south of St Albans all day yesterday. It may be the light, but looks to have a fair amount of steam content now, which is to be expected after the fire fighters got the go ahead.
The windscreen on the car did look to have oil droplets on it yesterday, but the windscreen wipers handled it ok, although the washer fluid is now concetrated against freezing.
May yet have to get the meths out, but at least it should protect against rust rather than cause it!
|
If you're caught driving in air pollution, what's the best setting for air in the car?
Radio report says "don't use your air con". but wouldn't that be the best option with 'recycle' activated?
Or would it be best to turn air con off as suggested, but hit the 'recycle' button.
What's the problem with having recyle air con on? Must be better than letting all the crud air in through the vents. Can someone enlighted please.
|
Growler asked: "I was watching BBC World here in the tropics and the reporter announced that the smoke was "carcinogenic but not toxic". Er, is there a difference or simply a fine distinction I must have missed?!"
Yes, there is a distinction: "toxic" indicates that short-term exposure to the substance can be fatal. The risk of developing cancer from most substances termed "carcinogenic" becomes significant when you are exposed to the substance over a long time.
So, for example, exposure to these levels of smoke over a few days until it disperses would not be as risky as, say, working in an enclosed warehouse with a diesel-engined forklift truck throughout your working life.
As to why approval was needed to use fire-fighting foam, the foam is a mix of nitrogenated bulls blood and fluorinated surfactants which form a stable foam at high temperature. It doesn't degrade well, so as another poster rightly pointed out, its wiser not to start using it until you can complete the job properly.
In many cases, oil fires are also allowed burn themselves out - its far safer than sending fire crews in among the tanks full of fuel that haven't (yet) ruptured! The priority will be to contain the fire so surrounding property isn't damaged.
- Gromit
|
The image on the Dundee Satellite imaging site of southern UK is quite bad. Here's a link (registration is free).
www.sat.dundee.ac.uk/abin/projection/ster/uk/2005/...g
>>
Or
news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/in_pictures/4518026.stm
See "in Pictures" - seen from space.
BBC showing Dundee photos.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
