Ageing plant will definitely flare again, say workers

Whistleblowing employees at Fife’s ageing chemical plant claim it is impossible to prevent a repeat of the recent prolonged flaring episodes.

Workers told a local councillor it was becoming increasingly difficult to enact the safety processes at the Fife Ethylene Plant, which opened in 1986.

They spoke to Councillor Mary Lockhart following the unplanned flaring in June but were eager to keep their identity secret.

Ms Lockhart said: “No one said to me that Exxon was failing in its duty of care, simply that it was becoming harder and harder to ensure the systems that are in place go on in an ageing plant.” Fife councillor Mary Lockhart met with employees from Mosmorran. Kris Miller.

She asked the workers what their employer could do to prevent another episode like last month’s. “They laughed and said ‘nothing, there’s no way they can ensure that will never happen again’. One of them said ‘I can guarantee it will happen again’.”

One of those she spoke to compared maintenance of the plant to that of a car in which parts are replaced as they fail.

She said: “You end up with a car made up of a mixture of parts from different periods. Then you need to think about scrapping it.

“It’s the same with a massive industrial plant. Originally it was expected to last 20 years then the licence was renewed. In the end what you need is a new plant.”

Ms Lockhart also called for information about the impact of “pigging”, the process which cleans residue from the pipe between Braefoot Bay Marine Terminal, near Aberdour, and Mossmorran.

A spokesman for ExxonMobil said: “The plant is maintained to the highest standards and we continue to invest every year in the facilities.

“Flaring is the plant’s safety valve and is essential to the safe operations of the plant.”

He also said the black smoke, emitted for 27 minutes, occurred due to an interruption in the feed to the site but also occurs in the rare instance of a sudden release of hydrocarbons.