page 1 1 Friday, 4th July 2008 2 (10.30 am) 3 MR MARTIN: My Lord, before I call the next witness, 4 I wonder if I could draw to your attention an additional 5 document which I would seek to put before the Inquiry. 6 It is in paper form. It has been circulated and it is 7 a copy of an aerial photograph which was taken by the 8 Health & Safety Executive who have been good enough to 9 provide the original for copying and for administrative 10 purposes, it will be scanned in to the Inquiry documents 11 and will have the page number 13752. 12 It arose, at least in part, from my Lord's question 13 of a witness as to whether it was possible to see the 14 location of the tank now on the ground. The aerial 15 photograph is, of course, of the aftermath of the 16 disaster and therefore it is not the site as it is now. 17 But if it is of assistance to my Lord, towards the 18 right-hand bottom corner of the photograph there is 19 a car park just at the HSE legend, above that there is 20 a large yellow crane which is parked and above that, 21 just slightly to the left, is the characteristic acute 22 angle of the stepped wall that has been referred to and 23 it is possible to see the end of the tank as it sits in 24 the acute angle. 25 Above that in the photograph there is an excavating page 2 1 machine and then the white shed which is part of the 2 Gael's enterprise and then the car park and so on above. 3 Towards the left with obvious damage to the roof is the 4 20th century fabrication shed which has been referred 5 to. One can see above that in the photograph the 6 remains of the mill building which were still standing 7 after the disaster; that is to say, the east tower of 8 the L-shape -- that is to say not the tower that is 9 shown on the model but is behind not on the model 10 because, of course, it did not feature in either the 11 cause or as significantly in the consequences of the 12 explosion. 13 THE CHAIRMAN: So that would be at the end of the model 14 nearest to me really on the far side. 15 MR MARTIN: As my Lord looks at the model, it is to the 16 right-hand side and behind what is shown in the 17 photograph as remaining standing and obviously at the 18 opposite end to the witness box. 19 THE CHAIRMAN: I have had some further thoughts about this 20 myself, Mr Martin. I am just wondering in among all 21 these documents is there any layer plan of this site 22 which would show us how things were on the eve of the 23 disaster. 24 MR MARTIN: Yes, there is, my Lord. There is a diagrammatic 25 representation. I don't have the page number page 3 1 immediately to hand. It is in one of the reports and it 2 can be identified, I would hope, fairly shortly. But 3 yes, it is very helpful. 4 THE CHAIRMAN: The other thing that occurred to me might be 5 useful is if we now had a layout plan of the site as is 6 and one could then, as it were, superimpose one upon the 7 other and see exactly where the locations were. 8 MR MARTIN: I do not think there is that, my Lord, directly 9 other than by reference to this diagram but certainly 10 something of that sort could be devised. 11 The other aspect of this which I did wonder if my 12 Lord might consider would be a site inspection because 13 what my Lord asked of course was what could one see on 14 the ground now and clearly this photograph does not 15 assist in that directly, although it gives the 16 relationship to buildings which remain in position. 17 I simply raise that because my Lord administratively 18 might consider if that were thought to be helpful and 19 obviously discussions could take place as to how it 20 might be carried out. 21 THE CHAIRMAN: I will leave that in your hands, Mr Martin, 22 but sooner or later I think it might be useful when we 23 get down to talking about the state of the pipe and so 24 on you just to exactly track it. 25 MR MARTIN: Thank you, my Lord. page 4 1 The first witness to be called today is Mr William 2 Delaney. 3 WILLIAM CARLIN DELANEY (called) 4 THE CHAIRMAN: Good morning, Mr Delaney. 5 Examined by MR MARTIN 6 Q. Mr Delaney, do you have a copy of your Inquiry 7 statement? 8 A. I do but it's back there. I didn't know whether to 9 bring it. 10 Q. I wondered because your evidence-in-chief will be taken 11 by reference to the statement. If you just give us 12 a moment. (Handed) 13 A. Thank you. 14 Q. Do you wish to read this yourself or would you prefer if 15 I were to go through it and ask you various questions of 16 clarification as that is done? 17 A. I'd prefer if you could go through it. 18 Q. I shall read it as in other cases in the first person. 19 Your name is William Carlin Delaney. 20 "I am presented employed as a customer operations 21 manager at Calor Gas Limited, Grangemouth. 22 "Positions held in the gas industry. 23 "My first job in the gas industry was with Calor Gas 24 Limited. 25 "On 5th September 1990 I started my employment with page 5 1 Calor Gas as assistant filling plant manager. My duties 2 involved managing the filling plant workers at 3 Grangemouth who filled and maintained the Calor Gas 4 cylinders for distribution to the retail network. These 5 were the cylinders that were used for heating, cooking, 6 caravans, barbecues, et cetera. I held that position 7 for just under a year. 8 "I was then promoted to filling plant manager. My 9 duties were the same but now also included the safety of 10 the Grangemouth site, the bulk storage and maintenance 11 of plant and machinery. 12 "With regard to safety I assisted in the preparation 13 of and had to submit safety reports to the 14 Health & Safety Executive under the CIMAH (that is 15 control of incidents and major accident hazards) which 16 was changed, I think, about 1999 to COMAH (the control 17 of major accident hazards). These regulations were 18 issued by the Government for companies who stored 19 hazardous materials above a threshold. Currently the 20 threshold for LPG to become top tier is 200 tonnes on 21 their site. At Calor we have approval for 849 tonnes of 22 LPG at Grangemouth. We peak in the winter with 23 a turnover of 500 tonnes of LPG a day. Under these 24 regulations I have to look at the Grangemouth site and 25 look at how the product is stored, moved about on site, page 6 1 consider the consequences of anything going wrong and 2 what safety controls could prevent such risks. The 3 Health & Safety Executive review the document, accepting 4 its content meets the requirements of the legislation, 5 then conduct audits to ensure that we are complying with 6 what we have said. 7 "With regard to bulk storage we have four 60-tonne 8 LPG storage vessels on site. 60 tonnes is approximately 9 120,000 litres of LPG. I have to ensure that these 10 storage vessels are maintained and tested to comply with 11 the relevant safety regulations. These vessels are used 12 to fill our mini bulk vehicles, tankers and cylinders 13 with LPG which is then delivered to our customers. 14 "With regard to maintenance of equipment I had to 15 ensure that all equipment on site at Grangemouth, such 16 as air compressors, LPG pumps, bottling machinery and 17 scales were working and properly maintained. 18 "About 1994 I was promoted to Production and 19 Distribution Manager. That job involved the same 20 responsibilities as above but additionally the 21 distribution of LPG including managing the fleet of 22 vehicles and drivers. The Distribution Manager in 23 Grangemouth then reported to me. The distribution 24 department consisted of office administration, vehicles 25 workshops, bulk delivery vehicles and drivers. I later page 7 1 inherited responsibility for the management of the 2 lower tier COMAH sites at Aberdeen and Inverness with 3 the manager at Inverness reporting to me. 4 "In 2001 or 2002 I was promoted to my present 5 position of Customer Operations Manager. This included 6 the same duties as above but now also included customer 7 service and customer engineering. 8 "I manage the majority of customer relationships 9 with Calor in Scotland, for both commercial and 10 domestic, but am not responsible for any sales activity. 11 "With regard to customer service we have a call 12 centre in Grangemouth managed by a team leader which 13 deals with customer enquiries, accounts, payment 14 collection, tank installation and tank termination. 15 "With regard to customer engineering, the filling 16 plant manager was also responsible for the local 17 customer engineering administration in the office and 18 three engineers who manage the installation and 19 termination of commercial and domestic customers. 20 "The periodic maintenance and inspection of the LPG 21 tanks at customers' premises was handled centrally with 22 Calor. The engineers would vet a proportion of sales 23 orders paperwork to check that the customer's site 24 appeared suitable for a tank. The engineers monitored 25 and controlled the work of the installation third party page 8 1 contractor via live and post installation audits. The 2 majority of this work was normally done by third party 3 contractors and my engineers managed those contractors." 4 Just before I move on, Mr Delaney, it would be 5 helpful if you could just explain what is actually done 6 at the plant at Grangemouth. 7 Is that where LPG is either manufactured or 8 processed as well as placed in the tanks for 9 distribution to customers, or what does happen there? 10 A. We don't do any LPG manufacturing. It's the process 11 plant for taking in the large shipments from the 12 refinery at Mossmoren in Fife and we've got a direct 13 pipeline connection to the Inios(?) plant in 14 Grangemouth. So they are the two feed stocks into the 15 Calor location and then we break that down into either 16 cylinders, smaller bulk vehicles or intermediate bulk 17 tankers -- sorry. 18 Q. I know it is difficult but if you would just speak 19 clearly and slowly, if you wouldn't mind, thank you. 20 A. Sorry. 21 So we've got two feeds: one from Mossmoren by road 22 and one from Inios by pipeline. We then take into the 23 large vessels at Grangemouth and break it down into 24 either cylinders or intermediate or smaller bulk 25 vehicles for onward distribution. So we're a handling page 9 1 and processing plant for LPG. 2 Q. So far as the additional two premises that you referred 3 to at Aberdeen and Inverness, what is done there? 4 A. They have storage vessels at each location where drivers 5 operate vehicles to deliver to bulk domestic and 6 commercial customers, but there's no cylinder operation 7 at either of these two locations. It's purely a larger 8 break bulk site where we trunk large quantities and 9 break down to the delivery drivers for onward delivery. 10 Q. Thank you very much. Returning to your Inquiry 11 statement at paragraph 13: 12 "ICL Plastics Limited. 13 "My first knowledge of Stockline Plastics which 14 I know is referred to by other names such as ICL, was 15 when I was at Edinburgh airport and saw a news flash 16 about the tragedy. 17 "At that time I phoned my office for a check to be 18 made to see if they were a customer of Calor and, if so, 19 what equipment we had, if any, on their site. I made 20 this call in case we might be of assistance. For 21 example, in a house fire the emergency services could 22 contact us and ask to remove a tank or cylinders." 23 May I just ask, Mr Delaney, why did you think that 24 what you saw reported in the news flash could have 25 anything to do with LPG in general and Calor in page 10 1 particular? 2 A. We follow quite a lot of newspaper articles or news 3 flashes on the telly where there's ever an explosion 4 just in case LPG in either cylinders or bulk may be 5 a contributory factor to offer any assistance if it's 6 required. So anything that we see or read we tend to 7 follow up with enquiry within our system to check and 8 verify if they are a customer or not. 9 Q. I will return to paragraph 15: 10 "When I arrived that day in Birmingham I again 11 telephoned my office who informed they were not 12 a current Calor bulk customer but previously had been 13 a bulk customer. I was also informed that 14 Calor possibly supplied cylinders for their forklift 15 trucks through a retailer. 16 "I then viewed the computer at either our head 17 office in Warwick or on my laptop to confirm this. This 18 revealed that they had been a bulk customer. Also from 19 speaking to my sales colleagues, I established that they 20 receive 18-kilogram LPG cylinders for their forklift 21 trucks from either David Jamiesons or Express Fuels who 22 were Calor dealers at that time. I think our head 23 office contacted the police control centre to ascertain 24 if Calor could be of any assistance and they replied 25 that none was required. page 11 1 "Documentation regarding bulk tanks. 2 "Detective Constable Glendinning and another officer 3 later came to my office in Grangemouth when I provided 4 a statement and documentation regarding when the Calor 5 tanks had been on site, who we lost this contract to, 6 where our tanks that had been on site were now located 7 and how much product Stockline had been using as 8 a customer. 9 "I obtained the documents from various sources. 10 This included our imaging system that contained 11 microfiche records for Stockline from the late 1980s to 12 1992 and our electronic imaging, which is when 13 a document is scanned. We also looked through filing 14 cabinets. Our head office looked in their paper archive 15 in Warwick. 16 "I have been shown Calor bulk tank 10-year test 17 certificate. I think gave this document to the police." 18 Could I ask for document 012766 to be put up, 19 please. Is that the document to which to you are 20 referring in that paragraph, Mr Delaney? 21 A. Yes. 22 Q. I shall read on: 23 "From this document it appears that on 3rd June 1991 24 tank serial number 214031 was tested by the Calor 25 engineer, Brian Kozary. This report has been page 12 1 countersigned by Alex Clezy. I observe that the address 2 is ICL Technical Plastics, Glasgow. This would be where 3 the tank was going to be delivered to. As per the 4 checklist, this tank was passed the various tests as 5 listed, such as a tank (sic) test. The certificate is 6 only issued when the tests are passed." 7 Are these tests carried out either at Grangemouth or 8 at least at the point from where the tank is distributed 9 or are they carried out on the site where it is to be 10 installed? 11 A. This one was carried out in Grangemouth because the 12 engineer Brian Kozary was a Grangemouth-based engineer, 13 we've a tank preparation and refurbishment plant at our 14 head office in Grangemouth where is where this tank 15 would be done. We can do 10-year tests in situ at 16 customer premises but in this instance it was done by 17 our own people at our Grangemouth ... 18 Q. "I have been shown Calor bulk tank 10-year test 19 certificate. I think I gave this document to the 20 police." 21 Could I have up, please, document number 11627. Is 22 that the document to which you are referring in the 23 paragraph, Mr Delaney? 24 A. Yes. 25 Q. "This certificate shows that on 3rd June 1991 tank page 13 1 serial number 213648 was tested by the Calor engineer 2 Brian Kozary. The report has again been countersigned 3 by Alex Clezy. I observe that this tank is to be 4 delivered to ICL Technical Plastics Limited, Glasgow. 5 Again, this tank has passed the listed tests. 6 "I have been shown a checklist. I think I gave this 7 checklist to the police." 8 Could I ask that document 12759 is put up, please. 9 Is that the document to which you are referring? 10 A. Yes. 11 Q. "Check lists such as this one were normally stapled to 12 the outside of the customer's folder. From this 13 document, it appears that on 17th June 1991 the 14 above-mentioned tank [and I think it should be tanks in 15 the plural] serial numbers 214031 and 213648 were 16 delivered to ICL Technical Plastics Limited, Grovepark 17 Mills, Hopehill Road, Glasgow. It also details that at 18 that time a 4,000-litre tank was uplifted and that the 19 above-mentioned tanks were 2,000-litre tanks." 20 Could I just confirm, Mr Delaney, that the document 21 actually headed, "Installation-history slip" and then in 22 handwriting the word "exchange"? 23 A. Yes. 24 Q. Thank you. 25 " I have checked the computer and all Stockline page 14 1 paper records and I cannot find any record of the serial 2 number for the above-mentioned 4,000 litre tank. The 3 only serial numbers that we have are the above-mentioned 4 tank serial numbers 214031 and 213648." 5 Were these the tanks that were being installed to 6 replace the 4,000 litre tank? 7 A. These were the tanks we installed. 8 Q. "I have been shown a printout. I think I handed this 9 printout to the police." 10 Could I have document 11633 up, please. Is that the 11 printout to which you were referring, Mr Delaney? 12 A. Yes. 13 Q. "From this document it appears that on 17th June 1991 14 Calor installed the above-mentioned tanks (serial 15 numbers 214031 and 213648) at ICL Technical Plastics 16 Limited, Grovepark Mills, Hopehill Road, Glasgow. It 17 does not detail who physically installed these tanks. 18 It could have been done by a Calor engineer or been 19 subcontracted by Calor to a third party. I do not know 20 who installed these tanks. 21 "I am shown a computer screen print. I recall 22 giving this screen print to the police." 23 Could I have document 11636 up, please. Is that the 24 document to which you are referring, Mr Delaney? 25 A. Yes. page 15 1 Q. "This document details the records held by Calor on the 2 history of the above-mentioned tank, serial number 3 214031. It shows on 17th June 1991 it was installed at 4 ICL Plastics, Glasgow. It details that on 29th May 1998 5 it was delivered to Schneider Industries in Airdrie. 6 Schneider would have overhauled the tank prior to it 7 being redistributed. On 22nd September 1999 it 8 was delivered to Stoney Stanton, a Calor filling plant 9 in England, and on 23rd December 1999 it was delivered 10 to the Thatch Inn, Cheshire, a Calor bulk customer. 11 "I am shown a computer screen print. I recall 12 giving this screen print to the police." 13 Could I ask for 11630 to be put up, please. Again, 14 is that the document which you are referring to, 15 Mr Delaney? 16 A. Yes. 17 Q. "This is another printout from records held by Calor 18 which details the history of the above-mentioned tank, 19 serial number 213648. It shows that on 17th June 1991 20 it was installed at ICL Plastics, Glasgow. It details 21 that on 29th May 1998 it was delivered to Schneider 22 Industries in Airdrie. Schneider would have overhauled 23 the tank prior to it being redistributed. On 18th 24 November 1999 it was delivered to Stoney Stanton and on 25 29th November 1999 it was delivered to Woodland page 16 1 Stapleton, a Calor bulk customer. 2 "Generally, if there has been a previous 3 installation the pipework would have been in situ and we 4 would have connected to that pipework. If not the 5 owner, Calor or an independent party acting on behalf of 6 the owner or Calor would have installed the pipework. 7 This information is not yet available to me. 8 "Again in general terms, the engineer would have 9 been qualified and would have checked for gas soundness 10 of the installation and pipework as far as the outside 11 of the customer's building. In a commercial premises, 12 such as ICL Plastics the customer is responsible for 13 everything from the first stage regulator, including the 14 regulator itself onwards." 15 Now in these last two paragraphs, Mr Delaney, you 16 are discussing the installation of the two tanks which 17 were installed in 1991; is that right? 18 A. Yes, in response to questions being asked about the 19 installation at that time of the two vessels. 20 Q. In paragraph 33 you say: 21 "The engineer would have been qualified and would 22 have checked for gas soundness of the installation." 23 I am just pausing there. Are we talking about the 24 engineer who would have installed the new tanks? 25 A. The engineer who did the connection to the new tanks. page 17 1 Q. Then you say: 2 " ... would have checked for gas and soundness of 3 the installation and pipework as far as the outside of 4 the customer's building. In a commercial premises such 5 as ICL Plastics the customer is responsible for 6 everything from the first stage regulator, including the 7 regulator itself onwards." 8 Would the engineer have tested only as far as the 9 first stage regulator, that is to say from the tank, or 10 would he have tested as far as the pipework at the 11 outside of the building and where it entered the 12 building? 13 A. He would have tested the pipework as well. 14 Q. Through to the boundary of the building, if you like? 15 A. The boundary of the building or the first isolation 16 valve available. 17 Q. Could that have been inside the building? 18 A. It could have been inside the building. 19 Q. We understand from evidence yesterday and I just ask you 20 to confirm and that is because you need to have 21 somewhere to stop the gas in order to do a pressure 22 test; is that right? 23 A. There needs to be gas trapped so we can see that the 24 actual trapped pressure remains constant, so you need 25 two valves, one either side. page 18 1 Q. So does that mean, Mr Delaney, that it will depend where 2 the second stage valve is or the emergency cut-off valve 3 is in a particular situation downstream because that's 4 the point at which the pressure test ends, if you like, 5 or the length of pipe which is being pressure tested 6 ends? 7 A. That's correct. 8 Q. "Documentation showing ICL Plastics Limited changing 9 suppliers. 10 "I am shown a letter dated 27th February 1998 to 11 Miss M Brownlie, ICL Technical Plastics Limited, 12 Grovepark Mills, Hopehill Road, Glasgow from Graham 13 Thomson, Field Sales Manager." 14 Could I ask that number 12066 be put on screen, 15 please. Is that the letter to which you are referring? 16 A. It is, yes. 17 Q. I wonder if that letter could be kept on the screen and 18 we could also have number 12059. Is that a letter 19 signed by Miss Brownlie, headed "ICL Limited", dated 20 10th February 1998? 21 A. Yes. 22 Q. Would it appear that the first letter we looked at, that 23 is the one of 27th February 1998 addressed to Miss 24 Brownlie was a response, at least a part of the 25 correspondence to the earlier letter? page 19 1 A. It is, yes. 2 Q. You say you do not recall giving this letter to the 3 police. 4 "It is a file copy of a letter from Graham Thomson, 5 a Field Sales Manager at Calor to Miss M Brownlie at ICL 6 Technical Plastics Limited. In this letter we have 7 informed them we are disappointed that this customer has 8 decided to terminate their bulk supply contract with us 9 despite us offering them a reduction in their gas price. 10 "I have been shown a letter dated 19th March 1998 to 11 Calor Gas Scotland, Falkirk Road, Grangemouth from A D 12 Elliot, J Gas manager, Johnston Oils Limited." 13 Could I have up, please, document 12072. I am sorry 14 that is obviously not ... could I have the next page, 15 please. Thank you. I think it is a faxed letter in 16 fact and that was the cover sheet. 17 Is that the letter to which you are referring, 18 Mr Delaney? 19 A. It is, yes. 20 Q. If we just keep that on the screen, please, and could 21 I have 12069 beside it. 22 Is that a letter dated 19th March also by 23 Mr Summers, Key Accounts Manager at Calor to Mr Elliot 24 of Johnston Oils? 25 A. It is, yes. page 20 1 THE CHAIRMAN: Could we look at the J Gas letter, please, 2 Mr Martin. I can't quite make it out. 3 MR MARTIN: Yes, of course. Do you see, Mr Delaney, that 4 the letter begins: 5 "Reference the letter sent to you by ICL Plastics 6 Limited, Grovepark Mills, Hopehill Road, Glasgow, on 7 10th February 1998 confirming termination of the supply 8 contract." 9 Would that appear to be the letter that we looked at 10 a moment ago by Miss Brownlie to Calor? 11 A. It would. 12 Q. Paragraph 38 of your Inquiry statement: 13 "I think I have seen this letter before and may have 14 handed it to the police. 15 "I observe that it is a letter dated 19th March 1998 16 from J Gas to Calor. It is confirming that ICL Plastics 17 Limited are going to transfer their business from Calor 18 to J Gas. Also in this letter J Gas have requested that 19 our tanks be removed by 25th March 1998. 20 "I have been shown [and this is 12069 which we have 21 on the screen] the letter dated 19th March 1998 which is 22 a letter to Mr Elliot, Johnston Oils, Standhill, 23 Bathgate, from B Summers, Key Accounts Manager, Calor 24 Gas, Grangemouth. I am sure I gave this letter to the 25 police. page 21 1 "I observe that in this letter our Key Accounts 2 Manager, Brian Summers, has informed Johnston Oils that 3 ICL were still under contract to Calor and must give us 4 three months notice and therefore that the Calor tanks 5 could not be removed until 10th May 1998." 6 Could we have document 12082, please -- perhaps we 7 can bring it up a little bit -- which is a letter dated 8 16th April 1998 to Mr B summers Calor Gas Limited 9 Falkirk Road, Grangemouth, from A D Eliot Gas Manager 10 Johnston Oils. 11 "I recall giving this letter to the police." 12 Is that the letter to which you are referring, 13 Mr Delaney? 14 A. It is, yes. 15 Q. "I observe that in this letter Johnston Oils have 16 informed Calor that their clients, ICL, want our tanks 17 removed by close of play 16th April 1998." 18 Do we see that in the second paragraph? 19 A. Sorry. Yes. 20 Q. "Uplift of two Calor tanks from ICL Limited. 21 "I am shown a document which is a Calor tank uplift 22 request form." 23 Could I have 12078, please. Is that the document to 24 which you are referring, Mr Delaney? 25 A. Yes. page 22 1 Q. "I may have seen this form before and could have given 2 it to the police. I observe that it is undated. It is 3 from Calor requesting that Ankor Gas uplift the 4 above-mentioned tanks, serial numbers 214031 and 213648, 5 from ICL, Grovepark Mills, Hopehill Road, Glasgow. 6 I have been shown a screen print." 7 Could I have 12089, please. It must be the next 8 page. 9 Is that the screen print to which you are referring, 10 Mr Delaney? 11 A. I think it was actually the page before that. 12 Q. I beg your pardon. If you go back to the page before 13 please. I think on the first page it refers to "job to 14 be done 17/4/98 as agreed. Ankor Gas", and then 15 a reference number. 16 Then on the second page we see details including the 17 two serial numbers that have already been referred to in 18 your evidence. Is that right? 19 A. Yes, and there should be a third page. 20 Q. If we can have the next page, please. 21 No, that is simply an authentication that has come 22 from Calor relative to the documents that they've 23 provided to the Inquiry. 24 Should there be a third page of the original? 25 A. There was a submission which we made in the original one page 23 1 and I think we resubmitted when my statement went in was 2 a signed form from the customer saying the tanks had 3 been removed on actually 20th April. 4 Q. Perhaps we can note that and seek to identify the 5 documents in the additional material. 6 Turning to page 50 of your Inquiry statement, this 7 is a work order from Calor detailing that on 17th April 8 1998, as agreed Ankor Gas were to uplift the 9 above-mentioned tanks, serial numbers 214031 and 213648. 10 This being signed by the customer on 20th April 1998, 11 which indicates that the tanks were uplifted on 20th 12 April." 13 Could we just have these documents again, that is to 14 say 12089 and 12090. 15 On the versions to which you are referring, 16 Mr Delaney, where do you recall the customers' signature 17 having been? 18 A. It was a separate form with the customer signature, 19 which is a form that was like page 3 of that one. 20 Q. I wonder if we can go to the subsequent pages. The next 21 one we know is simply the Calor certification. That 22 would be 12091 and could we have 12092. 23 That again is a certificate of authentication which 24 is for the purposes of the Inquiry. Go back, please, to 25 12091. Yes, it is the same. page 24 1 Thank you, Mr Delaney. Perhaps we could have 12086. 2 Is that of any assistance? 3 A. That looks like the one I was referring to with the 4 signature for the customer on 20th April here. 5 Q. Just to be clear, at the bottom, the last printed entry 6 is signed customer, there's then a signature and then 7 a space for the date written in 20/4/98; is that right? 8 A. That's correct. 9 Q. Is that what you are taking to be the third page of the 10 two pages we have looked at, which are 12089 and -- 11 A. That's the one referred to in paragraph 50, signed by 12 the customer on 20th April, which indicates that the 13 tanks were uplifted on 20th April. 14 Q. Paragraph 51. Could we have 12167, please. 15 "I have been shown a document which is a Calor 16 certificate of vessel preparation for LPG service. 17 I have not seen this certificate before." 18 Looking at it, is this the certificate you are 19 referring to, Mr Delaney? 20 A. Yes, it is. 21 Q. Thank you. 22 "The document appears to be a certificate detailing 23 that various tanks have been prepared in accordance with 24 a B certificate. I do not know what is contained in a B 25 certificate. I observe that it is noted at the top of page 25 1 this certificate that this vessel has been 'prepared, 2 valved and tested for LPG service in accordance with the 3 relevant Calor vessel type code as detailed in the 4 vessel identity drawings manual and Calor specification 5 CAL501 part 2 and/or CAL 503 part 1'. I note that this 6 certificate includes the above-mentioned tank, serial 7 number 214031. I observe that it was tested on 14th 8 September 1999 by Schneider in Airdrie." 9 Could we just identify why one can say that? If we 10 look at the second column from the right, the list of 11 serial numbers under the heading "non-new", the third 12 serial number is 214031. Is that right? 13 A. Correct. 14 Q. How do we know that it was tested on 14th September 15 1999? 16 A. The date's at the bottom corner, bottom right, just 17 above the location, Schneider Industries, Airdrie. 18 Q. So that is the date that applies to all the tanks on the 19 certificate, including the one in question; is that 20 right? 21 A. Yes. 22 Q. How do we know that they were tested at Schneider at 23 Airdrie? 24 A. It's got the location, SI Airdrie. 25 Q. If you could go back, please, to paragraph 29 of your page 26 1 witness statement, in that paragraph you were detailing 2 the history of the tank, serial number 214031, and we 3 see from what you said that it was delivered to 4 Schneider on 29th May 1998 and it was subsequently 5 delivered to Stoney Stanton on 22nd September 1999. 6 Is what you see on this certificate of vessel 7 preparation for LPG service of it having been tested by 8 Schneider on 14th September 1999 consistent with the 9 history of the tank which you have already referred to? 10 A. It is, yes. 11 Q. Returning to paragraph 53 of your Inquiry statement, 12 could I have document, please, 12173: 13 "I have been shown a document which is a Calor 14 certificate of vessel preparation for LPG service. 15 I cannot recall seeing this certificate before." 16 As you look at the screen document 12173, is that 17 the document to which you are referring, Mr Delaney? 18 A. I'm just checking it has the serial number on it but I 19 can't quite make it out. It is, yes. 20 Q. Thank you. 21 Paragraph 55 of your inquiry statement: 22 "I observe from this document it appears that on 5th 23 November 1999 tank serial number 213648 was tested by 24 Schneider in Airdrie and passed the test in accordance 25 with certificate B. I observe that it is noted at the page 27 1 top of this certificate that this vessel has been 2 'prepared, valved and tested for LPG service in 3 accordance with the relevant Calor vessel type code as 4 detailed in the vessel identity drawings manual and 5 Calor specification CAL 501-part 2 and/or CAL 503-part 6 1'. 7 Can we see that the entry referring to serial number 8 213648 is the second entry in the "non-new" column which 9 is second from the right? 10 A. That's correct. 11 Q. If we look at the bottom of the document will we see 12 similar references to the date of certification. Is 13 that 5th November 1999 and the location is Airdrie. Is 14 that a reference to Schneider in Airdrie? 15 A. It is, yes. 16 Q. Could I have document 12170, please. 17 Paragraph 56: 18 "I have been shown a document which is a Calor Gas 19 Limited vessel modification repair certificate. I have 20 not seen this before." 21 Is that the document to which you are referring. 22 A. It is, yes. 23 Q. "From this document it appears that on 21st September 24 1999 bulk tank serial number 214031 underwent various 25 repairs such as the name plate being refurbished. It page 28 1 also included a hydro test, which is when the tank is 2 filled with water to check for leaks." 3 Now that is on 21st September 1999. Is that 4 chronology in relation to tank 214031 consistent with 5 what you have already said both in paragraph 29 and in 6 paragraph 52 about the history of the tank passing 7 through Schneider and then eventually being delivered to 8 Stoney Stanton on 22nd September 1999? 9 A. It is, yes. 10 Q. Thank you. Could I have document 12176, please. 11 Paragraph 59: 12 "I have been shown a document which is a Calor Gas 13 Limited vessel modification/repair certificate. I have 14 not seen this certificate before." 15 Is that the document to which you are referring, 16 Mr Delaney? 17 A. It is, yes. 18 Q. "This document details that on 30th November 1999 bulk 19 tank serial number 213648 was also repaired and 20 refurbished." 21 If we do the equivalent exercise to the earlier tank 22 on this one, can you go to paragraph 51 of your Inquiry 23 statement, please. Do we see that the tank history 24 reveals that this one was delivered to Schneider on 29th 25 May 1998 and on 18th November it was delivered to Stoney page 29 1 Stanton and thereafter to a customer. 2 In paragraph 55 -- 3 THE CHAIRMAN: Did both of these tanks go to Woodlands, Mr 4 Delaney? 5 A. No, they went to two separate customers of Calor Gas. 6 MR MARTIN: I think, my Lord, they both went to Stoney 7 Stanton, as I understand it, which is presumably another 8 Calor distribution centre. 9 Is that right? 10 A. It's a Calor distribution centre and it's also 11 a Schneider Industries location despatch the other side. 12 Q. But then each tank went to a different customer? 13 A. Yes, it was eventually -- they were refurbished and 14 delivered to two separate customers. 15 Q. Anyway, 31 gives the history. 16 If we then go to 55. This is the document testing 17 that we looked at a moment ago. That was on 5th 18 November 1999. Then in paragraph 61: 19 "The vessel modification/repair certificate reveals 20 that it was repaired and refurbished on 30th November 21 1999." 22 Once again, as with the previous tank, are these 23 dates consistent with the history of the tank, the fact 24 it had passed through refurbishment and testing? 25 A. Yes. page 30 1 Q. "Involvement with ICL Plastics Limited. 2 "I had no direct involvement with ICL as a customer, 3 although Grangemouth based drivers would have delivered 4 to them until Calor ceased to be their LPG supplier in 5 1998. 6 "Ownership of pipes. 7 "Under the terms and conditions of our contract with 8 the customer, the pipework from the vapour offtake pipe 9 leaving the tank outlet valve is, including regulators 10 on commercial installations, the customer's 11 responsibility. 12 "Exchange of tanks. 13 "If a customer changed from another supplier to 14 Calor, then Calor would fit the replacement tank and use 15 the same customer owned pipework, if the visible parts 16 of that pipework looked satisfactory and on completion 17 of a satisfactory pressure test. A pressure test would 18 be carried out from the tank to the first isolation 19 valve. Again, when fitting a replacement tank the 20 pipework from the vapour offtake pipe at the tank valve 21 onwards would continue to be the customer's 22 responsibility. 23 "Testing of tanks. 24 "Our head office is responsible for ensuring that 25 tanks are inspected at the correct periods. The three page 31 1 local Calor engineers ensure that any faults reported by 2 the customer or discovered at testing are rectified 3 properly. 4 "ICL Plastics Limited quotation documentation." 5 Could I have document 11027 up, please. 6 "I have been shown a document which is a letter 7 dated 28th May 1969 to ICL Plastics Limited, 188 North 8 Woodside Road, Glasgow, from JV Halhead, Contracts 9 Manager, Calor Gas, Westwood Road, Glasgow. I observe 10 that in paragraph 3, Mr Halhead has written: 11 "'It is noted should our quotation be acceptable to 12 you, the galvanised iron pipe, pipe fittings, et cetera, 13 required to connect from the two ovens to the bulk 14 propane supply should be carried out by your own labour 15 force.'" 16 Do we see that in the third paragraph of the letter, 17 Mr Delaney? 18 A. Yes. 19 Q. "'We could not locate a copy of the original Calor 20 contract with ICL Plastics Limited, which I believe 21 would have been about this time.'" 22 Can I ask that the subsequent page, 11028, be put 23 up, please. 24 Does that appear to be a quotation which is dated 25 29th May 1969 and would appear to be a quotation page 32 1 referred to in the letter that we had on the screen 2 a moment ago? 3 A. It does, yes. 4 Q. Do we note that so far as the quotation is concerned, 5 underneath the address of any prospective customer of 6 "ICL Plastics Limited" the words, "Storage to supply", 7 then underneath that is: 8 "(a) one type 2-tonne capacity bulk propane storage 9 vessel on outright purchase for the next sum specified 10 or, alternatively, (b), one type 2-tonne capacity bulk 11 propane storage vessel on annual hire at a rate per 12 annum which is specified." 13 Does that appear to be a quotation providing, along 14 with other things, either for the outright sale of 15 a tank by Calor to the prospective customer or 16 alternatively the hiring of a tank to the prospective 17 customer? 18 A. That's correct. 19 Q. Could I have document 11032, please. Could that be 20 expanded: 21 "I have been shown a document which is a Calor Gas 22 plant and equipment hire proposal form." 23 Is that the document to which you are referring, 24 Mr Delaney? 25 A. It is, yes. page 33 1 Q. "I observe this form is dated 16th August 1969 and the 2 hirer is ICL Plastics Limited. It details the supply of 3 one 2-tonne liquid LPG capacity tank, serial number 4 260458. I have checked our computer records and cannot 5 find details of any vessel of that number." 6 If I may just pause there, if you recall the 7 evidence that was included in your statement previously 8 of the replacement of a single tank by the two tanks 9 that are detailed in the histories that we have looked 10 at in 1991, is it possible that the tank which was 11 replaced, the single 2-tonne tank had the serial number 12 260458? 13 A. It is possible. It's the right size of vessel. 14 Q. If we go back to paragraph 25 of your Inquiry statement 15 you say: 16 "I have checked the computer and all Stockline paper 17 records and I cannot find any record of the serial 18 number for the above-mentioned 4,000-litre tank [which 19 of course is the one being replaced]. The only serial 20 numbers we have are the above-mentioned tank serial 21 numbers 214031 and 213648 which were the tanks that were 22 being installed in place of the single tank. 23 Given that the original installation took place 24 after the agreement in May 1969 or at least later in 25 1969 and that the replacement of the single tank took page 34 1 place in 1991, is it conceivable that the same tank 2 remained in place throughout the period in between? 3 A. It's conceivable but I would have said unlikely. 4 Q. Why do you say that? 5 A. At that time, I believe, there was a 20-year tank 6 exchange programme. So if it was '69 should have been 7 exchanged in '89. 8 Q. Would you have found records to confirm there would have 9 been an exchange in the intervening period if that had 10 occurred? 11 A. No, I wouldn't have expected to find records going back 12 that far for a customer who was no longer a customer. 13 We'd had three off the floor locations in that time and 14 it was originally paper records, some of which were 15 microfiched and some of the microfiche was then imaged, 16 but there wasn't records going back to 1967 and if the 17 vessel had subsequently been scrapped, then all 18 associated records for that vessel would just have 19 disappeared from the records. 20 Q. So as far as the position was between 1969 and the 21 exchange and alteration to two tanks in 1991, is it the 22 position, Mr Delaney, that it is possible that the same 23 tank was in place throughout the period from 1969 to 24 1991 but it is also possible that the tank was changed 25 for another single tank during that period and, for the page 35 1 reason you have just explained, the records are simply 2 no longer available? 3 A. Yes, both are viable options. 4 Q. Paragraph 71 of your Inquiry statement: 5 "If any of my engineers required technical advice, 6 then this would not be obtained from me but from our 7 advisory engineer, Gary Tomlin in Warwick. It would not 8 be part of my remit because I do not get involved in the 9 technical side at all. 10 "LPG Codes of Practice. I have read LPG Codes of 11 Practice regarding the installation and maintenance of 12 LPG tanks. Our engineers would work to those codes. 13 Our three engineers would be given the originals of 14 these codes from Calor. They would also work in 15 accordance with Calor maintenance manuals. 16 "I confirm that the contents of this statement are 17 true." 18 That concludes your Inquiry statement, Mr Delaney. 19 Thank you very much. If I could ask you to remain 20 there, you may be asked some additional question. 21 THE CHAIRMAN: Mr Ellis, you have some questions which 22 I think mostly are overtaken by yesterday's evidence. 23 MR ELLIS: Yes, my Lord. In relation to the questions of 24 which advance notice was obtained, I think the matters 25 are adequately covered by the evidence we heard page 36 1 yesterday. I do have one further matter that I would 2 seek to clarify with this witness arising out of some 3 questions my learned friend asked about paragraph 13 of 4 his statement. 5 THE CHAIRMAN: Before you do that, I take it no-one else has 6 any questions for this witness? Please go on, Mr Ellis. 7 Examined by MR ELLIS 8 Q. Mr Delaney, in response to some questions from Mr Martin 9 at the stage of paragraph 13 of your statement, you 10 explained that you followed newspaper articles and news 11 flashes where there's ever an explosion, I think is the 12 way you put it. 13 A. Yes, any incident which may involve or may not involve 14 LPG. 15 Q. What you said was in case LPG in either cylinders or 16 bulk may be a contributing factor. What I wanted to 17 explore with you for clarification's sake is what you 18 meant by a contributing factor in this context? 19 A. Whether if it was involving a cylinder or a bulk tank 20 which -- they generally become secondary to the main 21 incident. So if there is a tank or a cylinder on the 22 premises, it's quite common for us to be requested to 23 remove them, so anything, any omission in the vent 24 doesn't impinge on our LPG storage. We also have to 25 investigate in case the cylinder or tank has been page 37 1 directly involved with heat or any sources of ignition. 2 Q. So when you were referring to a contributing factor in 3 this context I would be right in understanding it's not 4 simply that the LPG may be a cause of the incident but 5 also that the LPG may become (inaudible) because of the 6 incident? 7 A. It can assist the emergency services if we can remove 8 the tank or the other hazard if it was going to be 9 a sustained emergency exercise for the location. 10 MR ELLIS: No further questions, my Lord. 11 MR MARTIN: My Lord, thank you. I have no further questions 12 for Mr Delaney. 13 THE CHAIRMAN: Thank you very much for your evidence, 14 Mr Delaney. 15 (The witness withdrew) 16 MR MARTIN: My Lord, the next witness is Mr Kenneth Platt 17 and it has been agreed that his evidence will be read, 18 as previously, by my learned junior. There are 19 additional questions for Mr Platt but it has also been 20 agreed that these would be dealt with in a similar way 21 by a written request to him. 22 My Lord, I wonder if I might just say that all 23 parties have been content to excuse Mr Platt, not least 24 upon the basis of a letter from his doctor explaining 25 his condition. In the course of that letter, it is said page 38 1 that as a witness Mr Platt might be shown, and I quote, 2 " ... potential gory images." 3 My Lord, I would like to make it clear, not least in 4 light of some press reporting of some days ago, that it 5 has never been the intention of the Inquiry to show any 6 images to witnesses which might be so described. 7 The Inquiry has already seen the video which did 8 demonstrate some of the aftermath of the Inquiry but its 9 principal purpose was to explain the evidence-gathering 10 process for the assistance of those who have to consider 11 the evidence later to be given. 12 Other than images which principally will be put to 13 experts and others for technical purposes, it has never 14 been the intention to exhibit for any purpose images 15 which would be likely to cause any concern to anyone. I 16 think it is appropriate that I say that. 17 THE CHAIRMAN: I am bound to say, Mr Martin, that when I saw 18 these press reports I was extremely concerned because 19 there had never been the slightest intention to show any 20 material of that nature. I just do not know who it was 21 who misled the media in that regard. Whoever it was it 22 was a most unfortunate thing that was done. 23 MR MARTIN: Thank you, my Lord. 24 In any event, it is not a matter of contention that 25 Mr Platt is entitled to be excused and his evidence will page 39 1 be given as I have just described. 2 KENNETH ANDERSON PLATT (read) 3 MR McBREARTY: My Lord, the statement of Kenneth Anderson 4 Platt: 5 "Employment history in the gas industry. 6 "In 1960 I started in the Gas Board. I did my 7 5-year apprenticeship, intermediate and finals in gas 8 fitting there for City & Guilds. This included a day 9 a week release to Cambuslang College and later to the 10 College of Building and Printing at George Square 11 Glasgow. In 1964 I passed my City & Guilds. My 12 position with the Gas Board was as a gas fitter. This 13 involved fitting domestic installations such as fires, 14 cookers, central heating and fitting gas metres. 15 "In 1971 I joined Calor. I started at Calor as 16 a fitter. I fitted cylinders and domestic appliances. 17 I fitted butane and propane cylinders but mainly 18 propane. I was fitting these to cookers and fires. 19 This was solely for domestic use. 20 "In 1973 or 1974 I moved to the regional office. At 21 that time my job changed from domestic to commercial and 22 industrial. In commercial and industrial I now fitted 23 bulk tanks. These are cylindrical vessels that store 24 bulk quantities of liquid propane. I stayed at the 25 regional office until I retired. page 40 1 "If the customer requested, we would do any sort of 2 test. We would do internal installations. For 3 underground sections, we would use red banded heavy duty 4 galvanised malleable iron -- red banded refers to the 5 grading of the pipe, the thickness of the wall of the 6 pipe and the pressure it would take. We would not use 7 black iron. To my recollection, we started using Denso 8 wrapping on the joints about 1975 as cutting and 9 (inaudible) removed the galvanising and thus made the 10 joint prone to oxidisation. 11 "Shortly after that Calor, being safety conscious, 12 decided to wrap all underground pipes -- this would have 13 been around a year or so later. We used galvanised iron 14 pipe, with Denso wrapping up until the introduction of 15 polyethylene pipe. I used polyethylene pipe myself. 16 The purpose of the Denso wrapping was to protect against 17 the acidity and moisture in the earth corroding the 18 pipe. 19 "I retired in 2000 for medical reasons. I was 20 suffering from stress related angina. In 1996 I had 21 a double heart bypass. 22 "During my time with Calor I attended courses run by 23 Calor such as working with LPG, working in confined 24 spaces with LPG tanks, a safety course in LPG and auto 25 gas installations, and forecourt meter installations. page 41 1 These courses would have been one or two weeks long and 2 would have involved written and practical tests at the 3 end. I got a lot of training from Calor. Every time 4 the codes of practice changed or new types of pipework 5 came into use I was sent on a course. The working with 6 LPG course involved learning how to install a tank, the 7 fittings and pipework. The safety course on LPG 8 included the obvious danger associated with LPG, in that 9 it is one and a half times heavier than air. 10 "When the requirement for CORGI registration of gas 11 fitters came into force, I was automatically registered 12 as part of Calor's bulk registration. 13 "I can't say what the procedure was in 1969. 14 However, in 1973/74 when I moved to regional, the 15 procedure for a commercial or industrial customer having 16 a tank fitted was that the customer would contact 17 a Calor salesman regarding the use of propane on their 18 premises. The sales rep would then visit their site and 19 check the availability of the siting distance from the 20 building and the neighbouring boundary. The LPG ITA 21 Codes of Practice" -- 22 If we could have up please, page 9387 and I think, 23 my Lord, if one looks towards the foot of the page, I 24 think what the witness is referring to is a table which 25 shows the various LPG Association Codes of Practice and page 42 1 the years in which they came into force. If we could 2 have the following page, please. Again, the following 3 page after that. I believe, my Lord, the witness is 4 referring to the various Codes of Practice contained 5 within that table. 6 "The LPG ITA Codes of Practice state that 7 a 2,000-litre tank has to be 3 mitres from the building 8 or boundary. In other words, 10 feet away. The first 9 thing for the salesman to ascertain is that the tank can 10 be positioned safely in terms of distance from the 11 building, plus access from the crane vehicle delivering 12 the tank and the delivery driver delivering the LPG. 13 Then the sales rep would find out the British thermal 14 unit BTU of the appliances that are going to be fed with 15 the LPG. This would allow the sale rep to work out the 16 materials required for pipework from the tank to the 17 external wall of the building. In my experience, this 18 was always done by Calor. If the customer requested, 19 then Calor would also work out the materials required 20 for the inside installations. Calor would give the 21 customer an estimate for the internal installation and 22 the customer could obtain an estimate from an outside 23 contractor and decide who they were going to use to 24 install their internal pipework. 25 "After CORGI registration came in it had to be page 43 1 someone who was CORGI registered, in other words 2 certified from a college authorising them to carry out 3 gas installations. Before that it had to be a qualified 4 pipe fitter. 5 "The sales rep would then submit the paperwork. An 6 installation engineer such as myself would collect the 7 materials mentioned in that paperwork from the stores 8 and proceed to the site. 9 "On my arrival at a site, the tank would already be 10 sitting on a concrete plinth. The customer would have 11 had a contractor lay the plinth. It is hard standing to 12 take the weight of the tank. It avoids vegetation 13 growing underneath the tank, which could be a fire 14 hazard. 15 "A customer would have a contractor dig a trench 16 from the end centre of the tank, in other words the end 17 of the tank, to a point of entry on the external wall 18 for the underground pipework. I think at that time the 19 trench had to be 2 feet deep. It has now changed to 20 a metre because plastic pipes are used and there is the 21 danger of someone damaging a plastic pipe when digging 22 down with a fork or spade. 23 "The tank would be on the base, the pipework in the 24 track and a shut off valve at the point of entry to the 25 building. If the customer was going to do the internal page 44 1 work themselves, we would plug it at the point of entry. 2 We would spray soap solution on the tank fittings to 3 check there were no bubbles at any of the joints. Calor 4 remained responsible to the outlet. 5 "The vapour takeoff valve is on the top of the tank. 6 Normally, you would have a small first stage regulator 7 fitted to the valve. If a higher volume of LPG was 8 required by the customer a larger regulator could be 9 fitted at the end of the tank instead. The regulators 10 and pipework then belong to the customer. The rep would 11 advise the customer of this state of affairs. 12 "It has always been a requirement for the shut off 13 valve to be outside at the point of entry. However, 14 sometimes for special reasons such as anti-vandalism the 15 shut off valve would be put inside. 16 "Earthing is only required on a 4,000-litre (2-tonne 17 tank) the reason is that during the filling process, the 18 static can build up between the hose and the valve and 19 so to prevent a discharge when releasing the filter 20 valve, the earth is provided to remove the static to 21 earth. 22 "I would work to the LPG ITA Codes of Practice [and 23 again those can be find at 9387]. To my memory, Calor 24 brought out their own manuals in the late 1980s. I 25 think Calor were involved anyway in the LPG ITA codes. page 45 1 This would probably have been someone from Slough (Calor 2 head office). 3 "If the customer were not getting Calor to install 4 the internal pipework then I would insert a cap after 5 the shut-off valve at the external wall. This is 6 a cover placed over the thread to stop the customer 7 attaching any pipework. A wrench would be required to 8 remove it. On such an occasion I would never connect 9 the customer's internal pipework and this would have 10 been done by the customer's engineer who fitted the 11 internal pipework. 12 "In my experience, Calor would always fit the 13 pipework to at least the external wall. We would, 14 therefore, fit all underground pipework to the external 15 wall and this would include the pipework in the trench. 16 I would then connect the pipework to the tank. 17 "If Calor had fitted the customer's internal 18 pipework then I would firstly conduct the soundness test 19 from the tank to the first stage regulator and then 20 another soundness test from the first stage regulator to 21 the customer's appliance. I would fit a pressure gauge 22 at the customer's appliance to monitor the test. 23 I would only check the customer's internal pipework with 24 a soundness test if the pipework had been fitted by 25 Calor. page 46 1 "During that 20-minute waiting period I would apply 2 a soap solution to all the joints in the pipes and 3 connections on the tank. This would include placing 4 soap solution on the underground pipe joints and up to 5 the point of entry. If this solution were to bubble 6 then there was a leak and I would repair the joint. If 7 those pipes appeared faulty then I would replace the 8 faulty pipes. During those 20 minutes I would exhibit 9 no smoking and no naked flame notices. 10 "If the soundness test failed then I would locate 11 the leak. Sometimes a leak cannot be shown in a soap 12 solution test, for example, if there is a hole in the 13 pipe, because in soap solution tests we only test the 14 joints. 15 "I would always locate the leak. If I could not 16 repair the leak I would call on assistance from another 17 Calor engineer. The pipework would always be sound, in 18 other words free from leaks, on completion of our 19 installation. 20 "I would then disconnect my gauge. I would reduce 21 the pressure in the pipeline to the customer's working 22 pressure for industrial installations. 23 "I would speak to the customer and inform them how 24 the first stage regulator works, what the valves are for 25 and how to read the contents gauge. page 47 1 "I would close the hood, padlock it and give the key 2 to the customer. 3 "That would be my job in installation complete. 4 "The soundness test only shows the condition of the 5 pipes on the day it is tested. It is a bit like a car 6 MOT in that the day after the MOT something can go wrong 7 with the car. 8 "Exchange of tanks. 9 "In an exchange of tanks, for example, from Johnston 10 Oils to Calor, I would fit new copper pipework from the 11 vapour offtake valve to the half-inch socket. I would 12 then do a soap solution test of that pipework from the 13 vapour offtake valve to the half-inch socket. 14 "If there was an exchange from a 4,000-litre tank to 15 two 2,000-litre tanks I would carry out a soundness 16 test. This was because the 4,000-litre tank would sit 17 higher off the ground than a 2,000-litre tank and 18 therefore a reduction in the height of the pipework from 19 the tank would be required. I would, therefore, renew 20 the pipework from the tank to the ground. Also, instead 21 of a half-inch socket I would now fit a T piece and then 22 a new emergency shutoff valve beside the tank. Given 23 that I would fit a new shutoff valve I would carry out 24 a soundness test from the tank to the external point of 25 entry. This test would be carried out to ensure that page 48 1 the emergency shutoff valve at the tank was working. 2 "Ownership of the pipework. 3 "Calor only owned the tank. Once a tank was fitted 4 and everything was working properly, then all pipework 5 became the customer's responsibility. Our sales rep 6 would have explained that to the customer at the start 7 and it was included in the contract. 8 "Second stage regulator. 9 "Second stage regulators are used for domestic 10 appliances such as cookers, fires and central heating. 11 The second stage regulator is used to reduce the 38PSI 12 to 14-inch water gauge. I think that 1PSI is about is 13 about 28-inch water gauge, therefore for 14-inch water 14 gauge it would require to reduce the PSI from 30PSI to 15 0.5PSI. If there were no second stage regulator then 16 I would expect the customer's appliance to have an 17 internal regulator set up at the appliance to reduce the 18 gas flow. 19 "5 and 10-year tests. 20 "I used to carry out 5-year tests. At the 5-year 21 test we used to replace the pressure relief valve and 22 carry out a visual inspection of the vessel. 23 "At the 10-year test I would firstly check the 24 vapour offtake valve for leakage. I would do this by 25 switching off the gas by turning the vapour offtake page 49 1 valve clockwise I would then disconnect the POL. 2 I would place my thumb and some soapy water on the 3 vapour offtake outlet and if it bubbled then the valve 4 was passing gas and a new tank would be obtained. My 5 10-year test would stop at the vapour offtake valve. I 6 had no responsibility for looking downstream but I would 7 normally check as far downstream as I could, both 8 visually and with a squirt of soap solution. This would 9 usually be the vapour offtake pipe up to the point when 10 it entered the ground. If the customer asked us we 11 would look downstream but this was in addition to a 12 5-year test and would be an additional charge. 13 "Secondly, I would check the fill valve. I would do 14 this by taking off the top of the fill valve and placing 15 soapy water on the fill valve. If it bubbled then this 16 would suggest a piece of dirt was preventing the valve 17 shutting properly. If it bubbled then a new tank would 18 be obtained. 19 "Thirdly, check the bleed valve. I would place some 20 soapy water over the bleed valve. If it bubbled this 21 would suggest a leak. I would then get a new bleed 22 valve or, more likely, a new tank would be obtained. 23 "Fourthly, check the content gauge. I would apply 24 soapy water to the content gauge seals. If it then 25 bubbled then this would suggest a leak. A new tank page 50 1 would be obtained. 2 "Fifthly, I would look at the visible joints on the 3 pipes leading from the tank and going into the ground. 4 I would do a soap solution test on those pipes. 5 "At a 10-year test the Calor safety officer came 6 with me. He would carry out an ultrasonic test on the 7 thickness of the tank. 8 "No soundness test on the pipework was carried out 9 at the 5-year test. 10 "Customer's request. 11 "If the customer asked Calor to perform a soundness 12 test to their equipment, then Calor would do it but 13 charge the customer. I know that they would charge the 14 customer because I have seen estimates. If the customer 15 instructed us to do this we would then conduct 16 a soundness test from the tank to the first stage 17 regulator and from the first stage regulator to the 18 customer's appliances. The customer's appliance had to 19 be turned off during a test. 20 "Instances of LPG leaks. 21 "I recall three occasions when an LPG leak was 22 discovered. On each of those occasions the LPG was 23 supplied from bulk tanks. I remember, probably about the 24 early 1980s, finding an LPG leak when conducting a 25 pressure test at the Atlas Scrap yard in Airdrie. The page 51 1 customer used the LPG for cutting the scrap metal. 2 I remember that during the test my pressure gauge 3 dropped to zero. I informed the customer that his 4 underground pipework was not keeping the pressure. 5 I asked him if he wanted us to renew the pipework. It 6 is normally cheaper to renew the pipes rather than 7 digging up and repairing. I think he must have decided 8 that it was too expensive because I recall that 9 this customer changed to cylinder supply. 10 "I remember probably about the early 1980s finding 11 an LPG leak in a hotel in Gatehouse of Fleet. Dumfries. 12 The leak was under the kitchen tiles. I had to tell the 13 hotel manageress that I was switching off the gas supply 14 because of the leak and she was very angry. The hotel 15 had to get builders in to dig up the tiles to view the 16 underground pipes. I wasn't present when the pipes were 17 dug up because the hotel manageress didn't want me back 18 because I had switched off their gas supply. Two other 19 Calor fitters, namely Derek Reekie and Sinclair Jack 20 attended. 21 "Denso tape was a bitumen covered canvas tape used 22 to wrap around the pipes top prolong the life of a pipe 23 by means of keeping it waterproof. In the middle of the 24 1970s we started using Denso tape. At that time we put 25 it on to joints about. About the late 1970s or early page 52 1 1980s we started to wrap the whole pipe in Denso tape. 2 Originally only the joints were wrapped to protect them 3 because the galvanised coating would be removed when the 4 pipes were threaded. 5 "I can remember one of the managers, Alex Clezy, 6 writing to customers to offer a pressure test of all 7 pipework at a minimal cost. I recall them offering this 8 when work was slack at Calor. 9 "I remember, probably about the mid-1980s, I 10 attended the Ironworks in Calder Road, Coatbridge. 11 I attended at the request of our fitter, Alan McGrogan, 12 to check to see if there was a leak. There was an 13 underground leak. I remember that the customer had to 14 have the pipework dug up. I saw the pipework and it was 15 the threads of the socket that had rusted and was 16 leaking. We fitted a new socket and charged the 17 customer for it. 18 "I would have filled out a certificate of service 19 when I attended at the above-mentioned premises. This 20 is a form that is completed for all jobs that we 21 attended and not just for leaks. It details the date of 22 our attendance and an inventory of the job. It would 23 then have been filed with Calor. 24 "Basement. 25 "I have never installed appliances into a basement. page 53 1 I would not have allowed appliances into a basement 2 because LPG is heavier than air and if were to leak it 3 would sit and could build up and explode. I have 4 refused in the past because it is dangerous. In the 5 Codes of Practice, it is not allowed. 6 "Copies of the Codes of Practice were given to us 7 regularly by Calor. I worked to the manuals issued by 8 Calor which included installations, the 5-year test, the 9 10-year test and the codes of practice. 10 "At a 5-year test I would not look to see if 11 pipework went into the basement. However, if a customer 12 asked Calor to do a soundness test or if I was called 13 out to do a repair and I notice that pipes went into a 14 basement and I suspected that an appliance was installed 15 in the basement then I would always report this to 16 Calor. I remember attending the Millgarry Country Club 17 and I observed pipework not going into a basement but 18 going down lower than ground level. I reported this to 19 Calor and this resulted in that country club changing 20 their gas supplier. 21 "ICL Plastics Limited. 22 "I do recall going to this plastics factory. I 23 think it was in the late 1980s, possibly 1989. 24 I remember getting lost trying to find the offices 25 because there were a lot of corridors going in different page 54 1 directions. I also remember there being a lot of spare 2 ground around the factory and that the factory was 3 located halfway up a hill. 4 I have been shown a letter dated 28th May 1969 to 5 Mr Downie, ICL Plastics Limited, North Woodside Road, 6 Glasgow, from Mr JV Halhead, Calor Gas Distributing 7 Limited." 8 If we could have, please, page 11027. 9 "I observed that paragraph 3 of this letter detailed 10 that ICL Plastics Limited were going to employ their own 11 labour force to connect from the tank to their two 12 ovens. I was shown a quotation dated 29th May 1969, ICL 13 Plastics Limited, North 188 Woodside Road, Glasgow, from 14 Calor Gas distributing Limited." 15 That is to be found at page 11028. 16 "I observed that the quotation price details that 17 ICL Plastics Limited could either purchase the tank 18 outright or rent the tank. I would imagine that if the 19 customer bought a tank then the customer would have to 20 have it inspected every 5 years by a qualified engineer 21 because if the tank wasn't tested Calor would not supply 22 gas to it. 23 "There was no pressure test in the 5-year test. 24 This was because the purpose of the visit was to check 25 the tank, not the pipework. page 55 1 "In the 1970s we were instructed not to fit 2 appliances in a basement or pit. LPG is one and a half 3 times heavier than air and would lie in the basement or 4 pit. You can run pipework through a basement. I do 5 remember running pipework in a basement. Usually it 6 would be ducted, open at the point of entry. This was 7 to allow any leaks to migrate to safety. 8 "Corrosion in an underground pipe would happen where 9 the galvanising has been worn or rubbed away -- this 10 happens mostly in acidic ground. Sometimes it could be 11 due to faulty fittings, expansion and contraction in 12 cold weather leading to the fitting actually splitting. 13 The use of Denso tape wrapping would delay the onset of 14 corrosion. 15 "If we took over as a supplier, we would check the 16 whole installation, internally and externally by 17 pressure testing. This was to be carried out before the 18 customer formally became a Calor customer. If there was 19 a problem, we would require the pipework to be renewed. 20 The customer could either get their own fitter to do the 21 work or Calor would take this work on and charge for it. 22 "I confirm that the contents of this statement are 23 true." 24 THE CHAIRMAN: We will stop there for 5 or 10 minutes, just 25 to give the LiveNote operators a break. page 56 1 (11.59 am) 2 (A short break) 3 (12.12 pm) 4 THE CHAIRMAN: Mr Martin, presumably we will hear from 5 Mr Platt in due course with his answers to the 6 questions. 7 MR MARTIN: Yes, and that has been agreed. I think at least 8 one written version of the questions to be asked has 9 been received and others will be co-ordinated and in due 10 course the same procedure will be followed as with 11 others. 12 My Lord, before I lead the next witness I wonder if 13 I might respond to a request, at least in part, your 14 Lordship made this morning, which was a layout of the 15 site identifying various buildings. If I could have 16 page 7745 up, please, this is a page from a report 17 prepared by Mr Thomson who is a Health & Safety 18 Executive officer and it is within document EX013 which 19 we shall be looking at later in the Inquiry but for 20 present purposes this document may be helpful because, 21 not least by reference to the aerial photograph that was 22 produced this morning, one can identify the various 23 elements of what previously existed. 24 I wonder if the photograph can be rotated through 90 25 degrees anticlockwise. I beg your pardon, not the page 57 1 photograph, the drawing, the 7745. It's now upside down 2 unfortunately but anyway my Lord will see by reference 3 to the photograph in the centre the legend "Mill 4 building" which is the forming mill building with the 5 stair tower towards the bottom and the stair tower that 6 wasn't entirely destroyed towards the top and one can 7 see that on the photograph above the pitched roof of the 8 damaged fabrication shop. My Lord Will see on the 9 diagram the fabrication shop. 10 Above that in the drawing is the Stockline Plastics 11 building which of course was not directly affected by 12 the disaster. Towards the bottom of the mill building 13 is the main yard which opens through the gate which has 14 been described on to Grovepark Place and thence on to 15 Hopehill Road and at the foot of that, so far as the 16 drawing oriented this way is concerned, is 17 a diagrammatic representation of the tank right at the 18 apex of the acute angle of the wall. 19 To the right of that is the building occupied 20 by Gael's Paints which of course still exists and can be 21 seen on the photograph and is L-shaped with a small 22 extension and then the Gael's car park which on the 23 aerial photograph still has cars in it with buildings, 24 superficially at least, undamaged above that in the 25 drawing and in the photograph. page 58 1 To the right of Gael's Paints in the drawing this 2 way oriented are buildings which are not visible other 3 than at the very margin in the photograph, which are the 4 retail units that can be seen on site and in front of 5 those towards Hopehill Road is the retail unit's car 6 park. 7 My Lord asked if there might be some means of 8 superimposing what was there or what is there now. My 9 Lord, I have not in the brief time been able to explore 10 whether that is possible but I do not see any reason why 11 something should not be attempted in that direction but 12 at the moment the best reference to the various 13 buildings referred to in the evidence is the plan which 14 is 7745. 15 THE CHAIRMAN: When the goods were despatched did they go 16 out of the rear yard of the fabrication shop? 17 MR MARTIN: I think goods perhaps came in in that direction. 18 So far as the evidence has revealed directly related, 19 and it can be seen on the model, the despatch area 20 within the mill building was to the left as viewed from 21 the centre of the Inquiry room, about one-third, and the 22 coating shop was to the right about two-thirds and on 23 the model the various box-type features which are shown 24 in that right-hand area are the ovens which have been 25 referred to in evidence used in the coating shop. The page 59 1 coating shop was operated in association with the 2 fabrication shop which, of course, is the smaller 3 pitched roof building to the side closer to Grovepark 4 Street with the rear yard behind it. There is some 5 evidence of goods coming in through the rear yard. But 6 the despatch area connected with the main yard, as it is 7 called, that is to say the yard with the gate and the 8 LPG tank that was featured in the evidence, by means of 9 a ramp opening through a roller shutter door in the wall 10 of the building which has been removed from the model 11 but it can be seen if it were to be put back and the 12 forklift trucks travelled into the building from the 13 yard up the ramp and there was the general indication of 14 a route for forklift trucks and I think also for 15 trolleys which was painted blue on the floor and that is 16 also shown in the model. 17 It may be, my Lord, that when we come to witnesses 18 who are directors or senior employees of the ICL Group 19 they will be able to assist further but for the moment 20 I hope that is of some assistance. 21 THE CHAIRMAN: Thank you, Mr Martin. 22 MR MARTIN: The next witness, my Lord, is Mr Thomas Watson 23 Dudgeon. 24 THOMAS WATSON DUDGEON (called) 25 Examined by MR MARTIN page 60 1 Q. Mr Dudgeon, I think you would prefer if your evidence 2 was given to the Inquiry as has been done with others by 3 my reading your Inquiry statement and asking for 4 questions of clarification. Is that right? 5 A. Yes. 6 Q. Thank you. Your full name is Thomas Watson Dudgeon and 7 I shall begin reading at paragraph 1: 8 "I am presently employed as a delivery driver with 9 Johnston Gas. This company used to be known as Johnston 10 Oils but about December 2004 it was split into Johnston 11 Oils and Johnston Gas but they are the same company. 12 "Start of employment with Johnston Oils. 13 "At the beginning of February 2004 I was working 14 with Shotts Motor Auctions as a delivery/pick up driver. 15 That job involved delivering and uplifting cars. 16 "At that time I telephoned Johnston Oils to see if 17 there were any vacancies for a delivery driver. I had 18 six months previously submitted an application form to 19 Johnston Oils but had not heard back from them. When 20 I telephoned in February 2004, I spoke to the Transport 21 Manager, Jim Anderson. He set up an interview and 22 a week later I got the job as a gas delivery driver. 23 "Training. 24 "At the end of February 2004, while I was still 25 employed at Shots Motor Auctions, I attended a week's page 61 1 course at Ritchie's Training Centre near Bishop Briggs, 2 which was paid for by Johnston Oils. This course 3 involved passing an exam and on passing I received 4 a certificate that permits me to carry gas, petrol and 5 all dangerous packages other than radioactive substances 6 and explosives. I have produced my ADR certificate 7 dated 2nd April 2004 which is my vocational training 8 certificate for drivers of vehicles carrying dangerous 9 goods." 10 Could I ask for document 12823 to be shown, please. 11 Perhaps it can be brought up a little if that's 12 possible. 13 Is that the document to which you are referring, 14 Mr Dudgeon? 15 A. Yes. 16 Q. Is that your signature which is up towards the 17 right-hand corner under your name and details? 18 A. It is. 19 Q. "I was also at the time given a sheet telling me what 20 courses I had passed but I have no idea whether I still 21 hold that document. 22 "At that course I received training on LPG. 23 Basically, it involved being aware of the dangers of 24 LPG, namely, that it is a low-lying gas because it is 25 heavier than air. It showed that LPG can cause burns, page 62 1 that it is highly explosive and can give the symptoms of 2 frostbite because it is delivered as a liquid. 3 I remember watching a video where a storage plant of 4 LPG, similar to Grangemouth, was on fire and the firemen 5 being engulfed in flames. I was also shown photographs 6 of LPG storage tanks in Mexico flying through the air 7 after an explosion. This video and photographs were 8 shown to demonstrate how flammable LPG is. Since I gave 9 my original statement, my company have provided more 10 training. I was given further health and safety 11 training after Kenny Gardiner (the company's Health and 12 Safety officer) joined the company. Kenny is also my 13 immediate line manager. Last April, I was given 14 a general refresher course which was an internal course 15 lasting about an hour. 16 "On 14th or 16th April 2004 I started as a delivery 17 driver for Johnston Oils. 18 "It was a Thursday that I started. I was told that 19 there were two jobs available, namely delivery LPG or 20 delivering kerosene (which is heating oil), diesel and 21 petrol. I was taken to a place where you uplift the 22 diesel from and I stood and watched our trainee (sic) 23 driver Andy Harkins load a Johnston Oils lorry with 24 a product which I think might have been diesel. 25 "Also that same day Andy took me out on deliveries page 63 1 of diesel and kerosene. One delivery was to 2 a commercial property and others were to farms. He did 3 not show me any deliveries to houses. I watched Andy 4 filling up the diesel tanks there. 5 "When I started at Johnston I got three days 6 training on oil and then five days training on gas. 7 There were two jobs going at the time. After doing the 8 training, I decided I wanted to do gas deliveries as it 9 is a cleaner job than oil. After my training, I was not 10 given any documentary evidence of the training as it was 11 all done internally. Most of it comprised being taken 12 out by another driver and being shown the ropes. 13 "The gas training involved showing me the operation 14 of the vehicle and familiarity with the different type 15 of gas tanks, procedure to fill them, the use of 16 personal protective equipment and safe levels to fill 17 the tanks to. 18 "The only gas I am aware that is supplied by the 19 tankers is propane. The ADR training covered the 20 dangers of propane, its properties and what Health and 21 Safety procedures should be adopted. That was 22 reinforced by Johnston Oils during my training. 23 "Whenever I have been working, I always drove the 24 same vehicle, an ERF Gas Tanker Registration J2GAS. 25 "I would fill the tank of the vehicle routinely page 64 1 either last thing at night or first thing in the 2 morning. 3 "I go to Grangemouth to fill the tank at premises 4 Mag Gas, which has been taken over by BP. They fill it 5 up for us, I would drive in, switch the engine off, open 6 up the foot valve and isolate the vehicle, walk away and 7 then they would fuel the vehicle up. It is still the 8 case that I go to Grangemouth to fill up my tank with 9 gas. 10 "There is a weigh bridge you go in and that's how 11 you calculate how much propane they have supplied. 12 I would then drive to a loading bat." 13 Should that be loading "bay"? 14 A. Yes. 15 Q. "... carry out the isolation, put my safety equipment on 16 and then go to the waiting area until the tank was 17 filled. I would then go back over the weigh bridge, get 18 my ticket and calculate what was taken out. It is still 19 the same process today. 20 "Procedures for filling an LPG tank. The procedure 21 adopted to remove propane gas from the tanker to storage 22 tank at premises is to earth the tank, reel out my hose 23 (a white line as they call it) that's what I put the 24 propane in with, screw the reel on to a valve on the 25 tank, open the pressure valve on the tank. I do not page 65 1 recall calling it a white line as I just know it was the 2 hose line. I also would not have called the valve on 3 the tank the pressure valve as that is something 4 different. I would normally call it the filler valve." 5 Is that qualification which you have made, 6 Mr Dudgeon, by reference to the words used in the 7 original statement that was given to the police? 8 A. Yes. 9 Q. "The procedure that I was taught to fill a LPG tank was 10 as follows." 11 I wonder if we could have photographs which range -- 12 I am not asking for these at the moment -- between 13129 13 to 13160. Were you shown a book of photographs, 14 Mr Dudgeon, when you were first interviewed after the 15 disaster? 16 A. I was. 17 Q. It might be helpful if at the moment we have 13137 up, 18 please. Just leave that there for the moment. 19 "The procedure that I was taught to fill an LPG tank 20 was as follows. 21 "Basically I was to look at the gauge, which sits on 22 the top of a tank, which displays percentages from zero 23 to 90 and this shows the level of LPG in the tank. 24 I was shown a book of photographs ..." and they are 25 referred to. page 66 1 "I only have a vague recollection of being the shown 2 photographs. I recall that it was of the actual tank at 3 Maryhill Factory. I remember it showed the filler valve 4 and also the ulage gauge, which is a small gauge that 5 sits on top of the tank which tells you the percentage 6 of gas in tanks. 7 "I observe that photograph 13137 is an LPG tank and 8 as per the middle of this tank the gauge would be 9 underneath its hood." 10 If we look at the photograph, Mr Dudgeon, that is 11 a photograph of the tank which existed at the time of 12 the disaster. Do you actually recognise and recall it 13 from that time? 14 A. No, I don't. 15 Q. You refer to the gauge which would be underneath the 16 hood of the tank. Is the hood of the tank the item 17 which is in the centre at the top of the tank? 18 A. Yes. 19 Q. It is a cover which can be removed; is that right? 20 I think we see what the tank looks like underneath in 21 other photographs; is that correct? 22 A. That's correct. 23 Q. Just looking at this particular photograph, do we see 24 that running away from what appears to be behind the 25 hood there is a pipe, which is slightly kinked upwards, page 67 1 and then it runs from the hood to the right above the 2 tank and then comes to be a thicker tank in front of the 3 brick wall, turns upwards to a joint and then turns, 4 again horizontally, to go out of the photograph at the 5 right-hand side. Is that right? 6 A. That's correct. 7 Q. Then on the left-hand side of the hood there is what 8 appears to be something like a pipe sticking out of the 9 top of the tank upwards with a yellow cap on the top of 10 it. What is that? 11 A. That's the relief valve, pressure relief valve. 12 Q. So it is not underneath the hood? 13 A. No. 14 Q. Then to the left of that on the top of the tank there is 15 what appears to be a flange with a hole in it and 16 I think it is possible to see a similar one at the other 17 end of the tank. Are these simply for lifting the tank 18 when it is being put in and taken out? 19 A. Yes. 20 Q. These do not play any part in the use of the tank? 21 A. No. 22 Q. Could we then, please, if possible keep up 13137 and 23 have photograph 13149. In paragraph 19 you say: 24 "I am shown this photograph which shows the gauge at 25 the far left of this photograph." page 68 1 Is this a photograph of the top of the tank with the 2 hood open? 3 A. Yes. 4 Q. Towards the bottom centre right of the photograph, can 5 we see a little bit of the corner of the hood with 6 a hinge on it? 7 A. Yes. 8 Q. So the hood is lifted up and hinged over to reveal what 9 is shown in this photograph; is that right? 10 A. Yes. 11 Q. When the hood is closed, how is it secured in position? 12 A. By a catch. You can just see the catch there at the top 13 right-hand side of the picture next to the blue cap. 14 Q. Is it padlocked closed or locked in some way? 15 A. It's locked with a key normally, a plastic key. 16 Q. The items which are in this photograph, first we can see 17 the gauge which you referred to in your Inquiry 18 statement and that is towards the left-hand side, the 19 actual face of the gauge is not very clear but it is 20 secured on to the top of the tank four screws; is that 21 right? 22 A. That's correct. 23 Q. Just to the right of that there is a right-angled 24 arrangement coming out of the top of the tank and then 25 leading on to the pipe, which goes off out of the page 69 1 photograph. Is that where the gap leaves the tank and 2 goes into the pipework? 3 A. Yes. 4 Q. What is the round item on the top of the what one might 5 describe as a T-piece at the top of the tank? 6 A. That's just the point what will come out of the take-off 7 valve. 8 Q. Perhaps I did not ask the question very well. You said 9 take-off valve. Is there a valve there which can be 10 screwed shut to close off the supply of gas? 11 A. Yes, the isolation valve. The isolation switch is just 12 the red handle there. 13 Q. Oh, I see. That is the red handle behind it. 14 A. And you can shut it off as well with the bit at the top, 15 the round circular -- 16 Q. Yes, that is what I was asking. That is the screw valve 17 which you can shut off; is that right? 18 A. Yes. 19 Q. In this one there is also the red handle we can just see 20 of another valve just above the blue cap? 21 A. That's correct. 22 Q. What is the piece with the blue cap on the top of it 23 for? 24 A. That's the filler valve. That's where I connect my gun 25 to to fill the tank. page 70 1 Q. Then to the left of the blue cap on the other side of 2 the pipe there's another circular item sticking out of 3 the top of the tank with a cap on it. What's that for? 4 A. That's for moving liquid safely. Our engineer would use 5 that. 6 Q. Could we then have page 13150, please. Reading from 7 paragraph 20: 8 "I was shown a photograph, which is 12150 which 9 shows a close up view of the gauge. I observed that in 10 this photograph this shows the level at about 68 or 69 11 per cent." 12 I think it is just possible to read that, 13 Mr Dudgeon; is that right? 14 A. That's correct. 15 Q. "This shows that the thank is about 68 or 69 16 per cent full. It is never filled to 100 per cent 17 because you have to allow space for the liquid inside 18 the tank to expand to gas. You have to allow 20 19 per cent space for the liquid to be converted to gas. 20 I was trained that we should fill tanks to 80 per cent. 21 It is also related to the heat in the atmosphere. In 22 the winter it could be filled to 85 per cent because it 23 is colder. However, I only ever fill tanks to 80 24 per cent. Since giving my original statement, I do 25 remember being shown this photograph but cannot remember page 71 1 whether the percentage figure shown on the level of the 2 gauge stated 68 or 69 per cent. However, the usual 20 3 per cent space is there to allow for the gas to expand. 4 When I had started my job, I would only fill a tank to 5 80 per cent as I was very cautious as I had just started 6 the job. If we are filling high usage sites such as the 7 caravan park then we usually fill the tank to 85 8 per cent. The tanks are designed and pressure tested to 9 87 per cent but it is our company policy to only ever 10 fill a tank to 85 per cent. 11 "If I attended and saw the gauge was at 68 or 69 12 per cent, I would fill the tank to 80 per cent. Since 13 giving my original statement I do not know if I did say 14 I would have filled the tank to 80 per cent as I might 15 have left it at 70 per cent if the gauge was sitting at 16 69 per cent, et cetera. It was a half tonne tank which 17 holds approximately 1200 litres of gas. Therefore, if 18 a tank is already at 69 per cent and you fill it up to 19 80 per cent you might only be supplying the tank with 20 less than 100 litres. I might be wrong in saying that 21 but I think that is roughly right. However, back at the 22 time when I had just started my job I maybe did say that 23 I would have filled it right up as I had only been 24 a couple of weeks in the job. If however you are in 25 a situation where you might be filling a tonne tank and page 72 1 the gauge is already at 69 per cent, then because the 2 tank at full capacity will hold 1,850 litres, then you 3 will be talking about adding in another 300 litres of 4 gas to get it to 85 per cent. That might be more 5 worthwhile doing. You also get to know whether 6 a customer is a high user and you make a judgment 7 whether it is necessary to fill a tank right up to 80 8 per cent or 85 per cent. 9 "(i) I always wear my personal safety equipment when 10 doing deliveries. 11 "(ii) I would earth my lorry. This is done by 12 pulling a wire from my lorry and attaching it to the 13 customer's tank or a piece of metal. I believe this 14 takes away any static electricity from my lorry when 15 loading the LPG. I don't know why that is done. 16 "(iii) I would pull out the hose from my lorry, 17 which delivers the LPG and this has a T-shaped gun at 18 the end of it." 19 Could I have photograph 13149, please. 20 "I'm shown this photograph. This shows a blue dust 21 cap. I would remove that dust cap and tightly screw one 22 end of the T-shaped gun into it. 23 "(iv) I would open the ulage valve which is shown in 24 the above-mentioned photograph between the 25 above-mentioned percentage gauge and the above-mentioned page 73 1 blue dust cap." 2 So would it be possible just to highlight that, 3 Mr Dudgeon, so we can understand precisely. Is that the 4 valve which is on the top of the union into the tank? 5 A. Yes, the one with the blue cover, I would connect my gun 6 to that. 7 Q. But I am asking you about the ulage valve which you say 8 is: 9 "... shown in the above mentioned photograph between 10 the above-mentioned percentage gauge and the 11 above-mentioned blue dust cap." 12 A. Yeah, you can see the screw just to the side of the 13 hood, there's a wee screw. That's actually where the 14 hose is fixed. 15 Q. I see, it's the little screw in the side. 16 A. That's actually called your fixed level. 17 THE CHAIRMAN: I am getting lost here, Mr Martin. 18 MR MARTIN: It is difficult, my Lord, because we can't point 19 to anything clear and it is not Mr Dudgeon's fault. 20 THE CHAIRMAN: Is it this the one here? 21 MR MARTIN: I do not think so. 22 A. The vapour offtake valve. That's it there (indicated). 23 MR MARTIN: I do apologise, Mr Dudgeon, but we do have to 24 assist by having it precisely. 25 The operator has put a red oval around the piece page 74 1 which is on the top of the tank and if I can just stop 2 there, what would you call that piece that's immediately 3 screwed into the top of the tank? 4 A. I would call that the offtake, the vapour offtake valve. 5 Q. The vapour offtake valve? 6 A. Which has got the fixed liquid level attached to it as 7 well, which is a wee screw just at the side. 8 Q. So are we talking about something on that item when you 9 are referring to the ulage valve? 10 A. Yes. 11 Q. I wonder if the Oval could be put back, please. Inside 12 that Oval, Mr Dudgeon, which is the ulage valve? 13 A. The small screw just to the back of the actual valve, 14 next to the hood. 15 Q. That thing being pointed to now? 16 A. Yes. 17 Q. So it's the little circular item which is closest to the 18 hinge of the hood on the piece; is that right? 19 A. Yes. 20 Q. That is what you open; is that right? 21 A. That's correct. 22 Q. Just reading on: 23 "I would open the ulage valve by unscrewing the 24 ulage screw at the front of this valve nearest the 25 hinges. If, on doing so, there was LPG liquid or gas page 75 1 coming out, I would not fill the tank because the tank 2 would be full. If the percentage gauge showed a reading 3 under 80, then the percentage gauge would be faulty. 4 This has never happened to me. You can use either the 5 gauge or the ulage valve to find out whether a tank is 6 full. It is almost like a belt and braces approach. 7 Since providing my original statement I have had to deal 8 with faulty gauges on occasion." 9 As I understand what you have said, Mr Dudgeon, in 10 order to make sure you can safely fill the tank and that 11 the tank is not already full you check the gauge and you 12 unscrew the ulage valve and assuming neither of those 13 suggests the tank is full then you would go ahead, 14 subject to the amount that you are able to put in? 15 A. Yes. 16 Q. "(v) If there were no release of LPG from the ulage 17 valve then I would pull up the valve release handle 18 which is in the above-mentioned photograph immediately 19 behind the blue dust cap." 20 Is that the red item that we can just see behind the 21 filler cap? 22 A. Yes. 23 Q. "(vi) I would pull up the lever at the other side of the 24 T-shaped gun which would allow the LPG to flow into the 25 tank." page 76 1 Is that the lever on the gun itself? 2 A. Yes. 3 Q. That presumably opens the flow from the tank; is that 4 right? 5 A. That's correct. 6 Q. "(vii) I would look at the percentage gauge and the 7 ulage valve and when I saw that the gauge reached 80 8 per cent, I would shut down the delivery because the 9 tank was full. I would stop the delivery by pulling the 10 handle down on the T-shaped gun. 11 "(viii) I would close down the above-mentioned red 12 handle and tighten the ulage screw. I would unscrew the 13 gun and replace the blue dust cap. The red handle is 14 really just an extra safety measure to close off the 15 tank. 16 "(ix) I would reel in the hose back into my lorry. 17 I would disconnect the earth wire. I would put the hood 18 down on the tank. 19 "(x) I would issue a delivery ticket from my 20 delivery meter, which is in my lorry. The delivery 21 ticket shows how much LPG has been delivered to the 22 customer. The delivery meter is similar to that in 23 a house electricity meter in that it has a series of 24 plastic numbers on a round cog. Prior to making 25 a delivery to a customer I reset the numbers to zero. page 77 1 After a delivery I run off a ticket which is in three 2 parts. The top two copies go to the customer and 3 display how much has been delivered. Ideally, I would 4 try to give the two copies to the customer and have him 5 sign the tickets. However, if there is no customer 6 about, then I would attach the delivery ticket to the 7 tank. The third part I deliver to the office of 8 Johnston Oils. 9 "If I were to overfill the customer's tank and, for 10 example, the gauge crept up to 85 per cent, then the LPG 11 would, I think, pour out of the ulage valve. However, 12 I have never overfilled a tank or have seen this happen. 13 If that did happen, then I would phone Johnston Oils to 14 inform them. You would have to fill a tank more than 85 15 per cent for a tank to become