Successful plugging of two Gannet Alpha leaks come as a Scottish newspaper reveals Shell’s poor safety record in the region The oil sheen on the surface of the North Sea that followed the UK’s worst oil spill for a decade has finally disappeared, according to Shell , after the company managed to plug its leaking pipeline on Friday . Government officials are now launching an investigation into the leak as part of an effort to discover how the spill came about and how to prevent such damage recurring. However, the successful plugging of both the primary and secondary leaks at the Gannet Alpha platform, 112 miles east of Aberdeen, came as a Scottish newspaper revealed Shell’s poor safety record in the region. An investigation by the Sunday Herald found that Shell had been officially censured 25 times in the past six years for breaking safety rules, giving it one of the worst safety records of any major oil company in the UK. Infringements by Shell include repeatedly failing to maintain pipelines – similar to the one that gave rise to the Gannet leak – as well as for failing to report a dangerous incident, and failing to protect workers from hazardous chemicals. The revelations cited come from records held by the government’s Health and Safety Executive (HSE), and include incidents in which Shell was fined or received an official reprimand. Since 2005, Shell has been prosecuted four times: for an explosion at Bacton gas terminal near Norwich; an accident at Ellesmere Port in Cheshire; a collision at the Mossmorran gas plant in Fife; and a fatality on the Clipper rig in the North Sea. The company has been forced to pay out nearly £1m in fines and legal costs. No other major oil company has faced as many prosecutions in the last six years, according to the HSE. Talisman was prosecuted twice in the period, while BP, Total, Amec and Nexen were each prosecuted once, the Sunday Herald reported. Shell’s safety record is likely to come under scrutiny as the government’s investigation into the leak is launched this week. First, Scotland’s procurator fiscal will meet experts from the HSE and officials from the Department of Energy and Climate Change (Decc) in order to set the initial scope for the investigation. When Decc has completed the investigation, which will involve talking to divers, marine experts and Shell executives, the results will be taken back to the procurator fiscal who will have to decide whether to proceed with a criminal prosecution. One of the key questions is whether Shell will have to pay for the government’s costs in containing the leak, including the cost of surveillance flights by Marine Scotland. Shell said that after its divers closed a faulty relief valve on Friday, no further oil had been released. However, the pipeline – which has been secured to the seabed with 26 concrete “mattresses” – could still contain as much as 660 tonnes of oil, three times more than the nearly 220 tonnes that has already leaked. The company is looking at how to make that safe, as well as monitoring the area to ensure that no further oil is seeping out. Decc has said a containment structure might need to be built in order to ensure that no further oil reaches the sea as the pipeline is dealt with. Green campaigners criticised Shell for not being sufficiently open about the incident, which was discovered on Wednesday 10 August but not disclosed to the public for two days, and they said the incident raised questions over the safety of oil companies’ plans to drill in deep water in the Arctic , as the North Sea is generally supposed to be the safest in the world in terms of spills. However, a Guardian investigation this summer found that there is an oil leak in the North Sea about once a week on average, though most of them are minor. Shell’s poor safety record Oil company / prosecutions since 2005 / enforcement notices since 2005 Shell / 4 / 21 Maersk / 0 / 33 BP / 1 / 20 Talisman / 2 / 12 Petrofac / 0 / 15 Total / 1 / 7 Chevron / 0 / 9 Nexen / 1 / 5 Rowan / 0 / 8 Amec / 1 / 4 Amoco / 0 / 7 Esso / 0 / 6 Conoco / 0 / 5 Marathon / 0 / 5 Shell’s 25 safety lapses Date / plant / situation June 2010 / Nelson, North Sea / prohibition notice after failure to maintain pipeline in good repair January 2010 / Clipper, North Sea / improvement notice after drinking water contaminated October 2009 / Brent Charlie, North Sea / prohibition notice after risk of serious personal injury from toxic and flammable gas June 2009 / Ellesmere Port, Cheshire / improvement notice because of blocked pipes and drains June 2009 / Ellesmere Port, Cheshire / improvement notice over blockages March 2009 / Stanlow terminal, Ellesmere Port / improvement notice after failure to provide information December 2008, Mossmoran gas plant, Fife / improvement notice because of access problem for emergency services December 2008 / Mossmoran gas plant, Fife / improvement notice on access for emergency services August 2008 / Brent Bravo, North Sea / improvement notice after failure to maintain pipeline April 2008 / Mossmoran gas plant, Fife / improvement notice to reduce risk of traffic accident February 2008 / Bacton gas terminal, Norwich / prosecuted after explosion, fined £440,000 February 2008 / Mossmoran gas plant, Fife / improvement notice to remedy deficiencies in emergency response November 2007 / Leman Charlie, North Sea / prohibition notice because of dangers from asbestos June 2007 / Dunlin Alpha, North Sea / improvement notice after failure to control exposure to hazardous chemicals June 2007 / St Fergus gas plant, Peterhead / improvement notice after breach of safety regulation May 2007 / Anasuria production vessel, North Sea / improvement notice after failure to ensure watertight integrity April 2007 / Dunlin Alpha, North Sea / improvement notice after failure to report a dangerous occurrence February 2007 / Ellesmere Port, Cheshire / prosecuted after accident, fined £116,666 February 2007 / Clipper, North Sea / improvement notice after failure to maintain vital equipment December 2006 / Mossmorran gas plant, Fife / prosecuted after accident, fined £12,000 December 2006 / Ellesmere Port, Cheshire / improvement notice because of poor maintenance November 2006 / Clipper, North Sea / improvement notice after failure to maintain vital equipment November 2005 / Clipper, North Sea / prosecuted after fatality, fined £150,000 September 2006 / Cormorant Alpha, North Sea / prohibition notice for inadequately guarded winch September 2006 / Leman Alpha, North Sea / improvement notice for inadequate maintenance and control (Source: Herald Scotland and the Health and Safety Executive) Oil spills Oil Oil Energy Fossil fuels Royal Dutch Shell Oil and gas companies Energy industry Scotland Fiona Harvey guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Automatic gunfire and explosions could be heard early today as tanks rolled out of Moammar Gadhafi’s complex in Tripoli and troops loyal to the Libyan strongman continued a last-ditch battle against rebels . Gadhafi’s troops remain a threat to rebels who surged into the city yesterday, and “danger is still there,…
Continue reading …A horrified crowd watched yesterday as a Michigan wing walker plunged to his death during an air show stunt. Todd Green fell some 200 feet at the Air National Guard Base in Selfridge near Detroit as he attempted to grab onto a helicopter hovering over the plane. “I thought it…
Continue reading …President Obama tonight hailed the Libyan rebels surging through the streets of Tripoli as heroes as the city slips “from the grasp of a tyrant.” The Gadhafi regime “is showing signs of collapsing,” he declared. The people have proven that the “pursuit of dignity and freedom is far stronger than…
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Judith Richardson’s body was found at her home in Hexham after her handbag was discovered 25 miles away in Newcastle Two people have been arrested in connection with the murder of a 77-year-old woman who was found dead at home after her handbag was discovered in Newcastle city centre. Officers called at Judith Richardson’s home in St Wilfrid’s Road, Hexham, on Friday after her handbag and some of its contents were found 25 miles away in Newcastle, stuffed in a bin outside a charity shop. Her body was found in the hallway, and police said she had been subjected to a “brutal” attack. Northumbria police said a man and woman from the Hexham area had been arrested late on Sunday. Specialist dogs have been brought in to help trace any evidence that may help with the investigation. Detective Chief Inspector Paul Young said: “We have arrested a man and a woman in the Hexham area on suspicion of murder and they are both helping police with inquiries. “We are still keen to establish how a bag believed to have been taken from Miss Richardson’s property was found in a bin outside a charity shop on Clayton Street, Newcastle, on Friday afternoon. “Anyone who used any public transport from Hexham to Newcastle on Friday and may have seen anything suspicious, please do contact us.” He said the bag was left there between 1pm and 4.30pm on Friday. “This has been a brutal attack on an innocent elderly lady, who was dearly loved by her family and well-known in the Hexham community,” he added. In a statement, the victim’s family said: “This has been a devastating loss and we are all in a state of shock. Judith was a wonderful person and we all loved her dearly.” Crime Newcastle Helen Carter guardian.co.uk
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Some 189,000 students now eligible for clearing Up to four students are competing for each place to start university this autumn, official statistics show. The Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (Ucas) said, as of midnight, 189,267 applicants had not found a place and were eligible to be in clearing. Clearing is where students who fail to meet their university offers are matched with vacant courses. Last year, 47,000 applicants secured places in clearing. David Willetts, the universities minister, has said this could fall to 40,000 this year. However, Ucas estimates that half of all students eligible to be in clearing may not have good enough grades to win any place. Some 425,487 students have been accepted on to courses – up 10,416 on this time last year. A further 61,737 are waiting for a university to decide whether to offer them a place or are appealing against their grades. Mary Curnock Cook, chief executive of Ucas, said on Friday that students with good grades should apply again next year. “You don’t have the agonising wait until August. You will have an unconditional offer, which you may well have before Christmas.” There were more than 684,000 applicants this year, a 1.3% rise on last year. Clearing Higher education Students A-levels Schools Jessica Shepherd guardian.co.uk
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Corby MP alleges hacking groups have warned her off using Twitter via email and says she has reported incident to the police Conservative MP Louise Mensch has claimed she has received threats against her children from the hacking groups Anonymous and LulzSec . The MP for Corby made the claim on Twitter in the early hours of Monday morning from New York, where she is spending her summer holiday, but did not reveal the nature of the threat she had allegedly received. She tweeted : “Had some morons from Anonymous/Lulzsec threaten my children via email. As I’m in the States, be good …to have somebody from the UK police advise me where I should forward the email.” She said she was revealing the information on Twitter because the threat aimed to warn her off using the social media network. She later added that she had reported the incident to the police in the House of Commons . The Commons authorities are referring queries to Scotland Yard, which said it was aware of the allegations and was looking into it. Mensch, who wrote popular fiction before entering the Commons last year, is an avid user of Twitter and has embarked on a number of high-profile debates in recent days about social media blackouts during the recent riots, phone hacking and Sally Bercow’s appearance in the Big Brother house. LulzSec – Lulz Security – and Anonymous are hacking groups that advocate civil disobedience on the internet . LulzSec was behind the hacking of News International websites at the height of the News of the World phone-hacking revelations and a separate operation against Nintendo. A hoax story posted on the Sun website suggested Rupert Murdoch had been found dead after having taken the rare-earth metal “palladium” before “stumbling into his famous topiary garden late last night”. The page later redirected to LulzSec’s Twitter account. Anonymous has targeted the Church of Scientology, Visa and Mastercard, and various Middle Eastern governments in the pursuit of what it sees as transparency and individual liberty. Conservatives Hacking LulzSec Anonymous Twitter Polly Curtis guardian.co.uk
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Chávez has shaved his hair off after starting to lose it during chemotherapy Supporters of President Hugo Chávez shaved their heads in solidarity with their leader’s struggle against cancer on Sunday as hundreds prayed and sang at a televised event. Barbers shaved off the hair of several men and at least one woman while the crowd swayed to a religious song. Chávez, who shaved his head after starting to lose his hair due to chemotherapy, smiled and waved to the crowd. “We’re Christians. Christ unites us,” Chávez said in a speech, noting that others had decided to join him and “change their look”. Chávez said he may undergo a third round of chemotherapy but expressed optimism that the worst of his illness has passed. “I no longer feel sick but rather that I’m convalescing from the illness I had,” Chávez said. Those attending included a group of six from the Dominican Republic who shaved their heads in a show of support outside the Venezuelan embassy in their country on Friday. Chávez greeted the Dominicans with hugs and stood arm-in-arm with them. He also grew emotional as he recalled meeting a young cancer victim who gave him a Venezuelan flag some time ago. He said the girl’s name was Genesis, and she had an advanced brain tumour. He said she had approached him at an event and given him the flag. “She told me, ‘Chávez, I’m going. I know I’m going … In this flag, Chávez, I’ll stay with you,’” Chávez said, his voice filled with emotion. Chávez embraced the flag and vowed to survive. “It’s time to live,” he said. Chávez returned from his latest round of chemotherapy in Cuba on 14 August. He underwent surgery in Cuba in June that removed a cancerous tumour from his pelvic region. He has said the chemotherapy has been going well and aims to ensure no malignant cells reappear. Chávez bowed his head during a prayer and later clapped along with the music. Young men with close-cropped hair stood in the crowd as shouts of “Hallelujah!” and “Amen!” rose at the end of a song. The Venezuelan president defended his practice of providing the public with updates on his medical condition rather than having one of his doctors release reports. He said his political opponents “are crazy to find out who my doctors are”. “I’m not going to expose my doctors to the ridicule,” Chávez said, adding that his opponents “would be capable of anything”. Hugo Chávez Venezuela guardian.co.uk
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Education expert predicts another record year of results as union leader warns against tinkering with league tables and targets Nearly one in four GCSE entries could be awarded at least an A grade in what is expected to be another record year of results, it has been predicted. And around one in 12 exams could score a coveted A*, an education expert has suggested. Teenagers in England, Wales and Northern Ireland receive their GCSE results on Thursday (25 August). Last summer, the pass rate rose for the 23rd year in a row, with 69.1% of entries achieving at least a C grade. Professor Alan Smithers, of the Centre for Education and Employment Research at Buckingham University, suggested this could reach 70% this year. And the proportions of exams earning top grades could rise slightly, he said. “I would say, that on the pattern of previous years, we could expect approaching 8% to get an A*.” Smithers added that the percentage achieving at least an A grade could nudge up to 23%. In 2010, 22.6% of exams got an A or A*, while 7.5% were awarded an A*. As pupils anticipate their results, one union leader warned that tinkering with exams and league tables is damaging for students. Dr Mary Bousted, general secretary of the Association of Teachers and Lecturers (ATL) , said: “The pressure on schools and teachers of the league tables has already led to too much teaching focusing on getting pupils through exams. “The government’s intention to devalue and limit vocational qualifications in future league tables will tie schools’ hands and push many young people into qualifications that don’t allow them to develop their talents and excel. “In addition, this year the arbitrary introduction of new GCSE floor targets is pushing schools to concentrate their attention on borderline C/D pupils at the expense of other pupils. “We need an education system fit for all, not the select few.” Under the government’s new benchmark, all secondary schools should have 35% of pupils gaining at least five C grades at GCSE, including English and maths, and ministers are aiming to raise this to 50% by 2015. Brian Lightman, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL) , said he expected another good year of results, with an increase in the numbers achieving five A*-Cs including English and maths. He said young people were facing “an enormously tough time”. “In terms of difficulties, they are facing fears about unemployment, they are aware of cuts, and changes to university arrangements. Finding a way through that to an informed decision is incredibly difficult. “We want, and need, young people to be staying in education, I hope they are encouraged by the good results I’m sure they will get, and want to stay in education, and that we can reassure them that it’s worthwhile.” GCSEs Schools guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Caffeine can offer more than a quick high and a comedown—if you know how to use it right. Step one is to start clean, writes Kevin Purdy at Fast Company : Ease yourself completely off coffee over about 10 days. That may mean some headaches and groggy mornings at first….
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