Monday 15 October 2012

Administrators ‘abandon’ Sterecycle autoclave

Let's recycle by Steve Eminton 15 October 2012

Creditors of Sterecycle (Rotherham) Ltd are likely to get a dividend from the demise of the business but the amount could depend on the outcome of any talks with the Health and Safety Executive and South Yorkshire Police with regards to legal action following a fatality at the plant in 2011.

In January 2011, an explosion in one of the vessels at the plant resulted in two men being injured, one of whom subsequently died (see letsrecycle.com story). An investigation into the explosion is ongoing and is being led by South Yorkshire Police.

However, it is thought that because of the administration of the business, the Crown Prosecution Service and the HSE might weigh up the costs of any case and likelihood of funds recovery when determining the extent of any legal action.

A spokeswoman for South Yorkshire Police said: “It’s true that Sterecycle have gone into administration and will unfortunately be closed down. However, South Yorkshire Police, along with Health and Safety Executive are continuing their investigation and evidence will be placed before the CPS for a decision in the near future.”

Observers put the failure of the Sterecycle plant down to various factors including financing and difficulties in securing the markets for compost like outputs. The bulk of the material into the plant came from a grouping of councils – Barnsley, Doncaster and Rotherham – who are now sending their waste to the Veolia ES energy recovery plant in Sheffield (see letsrecycle.com story).

Tuesday 10 April 2012

Court: Italy cruise ship captain must stay under house arrest

CNN by Hada Messia 10 April 2012

Italy's highest court ruled Tuesday that the captain of the wrecked Costa Concordia cruise ship must remain under house arrest while he is investigated for possible criminal charges.

Schettino has previously said managers of the Costa cruise line instructed him to sail close to the island and has denied allegations that he was sailing too fast. He has said the rock the ship struck was not indicated on his charts of the area.

Thursday 5 April 2012

Bryan Burrough on the Costa Concordia Captain's Deadly Error and the Dramatic Rescue That Saved Thousands of Lives

Vanity Fair 5 April 2012

After a desperate hairpin turn away from the open sea—a maneuver that Captain Schettino claimed saved hundreds, maybe thousands of lives, Schettino made an error that led to many deaths the night the Costa Concordia ran aground off the coast of Giglio, Italy. John Konrad, an American captain and the editor in chief of the maritime-news site gCaptain, tells Vanity Fair special correspondent Bryan Burrough that the ship had already been listing starboard, toward the peninsula. When Schettino dropped the ship’s anchors in an attempt to prevent it from falling farther, he instead created the opposite effect. “You can see they let out too much chain,” Konrad says. “I don’t know the precise depths, but if it was 90 meters, they let out 120 meters of chain. So the anchors never caught. The ship then went in sideways, almost tripping over itself, which is why it listed. If he had dropped the anchors properly, the ship wouldn’t have listed so badly.” How to explain so fundamental a blunder? Video of the chaos on the bridge that night gives insight into the captain’s state of mind. “You can tell he was stunned,” says Konrad. “The captain really froze. It doesn’t seem his brain was processing.”

After Schettino left the ship, Giglio’s police chief, Roberto Galli, was stunned to find the captain sitting on the rocks at the shore watching the ship sink. When he encouraged Schettino to return to the ship the captain told him, “No, I want to stay here, to verify conditions on the ship.” Galli stayed with him for 30 minutes. “At one point, Schettino asked to use my telephone, because his was running out of juice. I wasn’t giving this guy my phone. Because, unlike him, I was trying to save people,” Galli says. “Finally, when I was about to leave, they asked for a blanket and tea. I said, ‘If you come back with me, I’ll give you whatever you want.’ But he didn’t move. So I left.”

Thursday 22 March 2012

HSE to publish autoclave guidance

Lets Recycle 22 March 2012

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is set to publish new guidance for the operation of autoclaves following an on-going investigation into a fatal incident at Sterecycle’s facility in Rotherham.

In 1990 the HSE published the PM73 document which outlined guidance for the operation of autoclave technology. The guidance was later updated in 1998 and now is set to be updated further owing to developments in the technology and due to industry demand.

Commenting on the reasons behind the update Paul Grady, HM Specialist Inspector at the HSE, said: “The guidance was prepared because there have been two fatalities in the UK since 2008 and three near misses where the door has come open but nobody has been injured.

Saturday 9 July 2011

Royal visit to factory reopened after blast

The Star Friday 8 July 2011

His Royal Highness the Duke of Kent visited the Sterecycle plant on Sheffield Road, Templeborough, Rotherham, to see how the company had got back on its feet after it reopened in April.

Sterecycle worker Michael Whinfrey, aged 42, died after an explosion at the plant on January 11.

The blast is thought to have been caused by a sudden loss of pressure following the failure of a pressure vessel used in the waste treatment process.

The Duke was given a tour of the facility by Sterecycle CEO Tom Shields.

Mr Shields said: “We’re delighted to have had the opportunity to host His Royal Highness and to show him around the facility.

“He was particularly interested in our Sterefibre, which is the clean biomass that our process recovers from the organic portion of the waste we treat.

“It’s a valuable product which can be used as a soil improver, and we will use it to generate clean energy in the future.”

Thursday 14 April 2011

Sterecycle blast plant back in operation

Rotheram Advertiser 7 April 2011

Sterecycle appointed a specialist in process safety, ABB Engineering, to carry out an internal investigation.

And the company says it has now complied with all Health and Safety Executive (HSE) stipulations and implemented the recommendations of safety specialists ABB.

A pressure vessel, which was not involved in the January 11 incident has been modified according to ABB's recommendations and the plant has officially resumed taking waste from the Barnsley, Doncaster and Rotherham (BDR) Waste Partnership.

Sterecycle says the second pressure vessel will be brought back into use over the coming weeks.

Blast probe continues

Rotheram Advertiser 22 March 2011

HEALTH and Safety officials are still investigating the blast at the Sterecycle waste recycling plant in Rotherham.

The plant was closed two months ago after a blast which killed worker Michael Winfrey and left his colleague Peter Davis seriously injured.

Sterecycle has said that it plans to restart waste treatment at the plant, in Sheffield Road, Templeborough, soon.

The company says it has met various requirements put on it after the explosion.

The blast was in one of two autoclave machines and Sterecycle has said it plans to restart operation using the undamaged unit and then bring the other into use after it has been repaired.