LETTERS

Publication H.M. Inspectors of Explosives Annual Report obtainable from any bookseller or H M S O : excluding postage. 1965 4/ '

. . .. , pnce -,

First Gas First gas from the North Sea has been brought ashore by BP ~hrough the 16 inch pipeline linking the West Sole field with the terminal at Easington, Yorkshire. Commissioning of the pipeline began on 4th March 'Yhen gas from the West Sole field started to flow into the lme, e~pelling the water with which it had been filled. The water is cleared by inserting a plastic sphere which is then pushed along by the pressure of gas to the shore end. This stage of the operation has now been completed. . BP was the first to make a commercial discovery of gas 111 t~e

Nor!~ .sea eighteen months ago. Since then produc!I?n fac1hties and the pipeline have been completed and add1t1onal wells drilled. This has been carried out with a speed probably unique in offshore operations. OFF SET FILLING I believe that there is in existence a combination shut off valve and dipstick opening, for placing in a filling pipeline, within the pit enclosure. This type of fitting obviates the danger of petroleum spirit being discharged into the pit enclosure whilst the dipping opening is in use, or has been left unsealed. I am anxious to obtain more details of this type of fitting, and would be grateful if any member could supply me with the address of any manufacturers who produce this fitting. Darlington, C.B. W.R. GOLDING Mr. S. Duncan of the Council of British Manufacturers of Petroleum Equipment supplies the following information: "A unit fitting your enquirer's description is produced by Brian D. Collins (Distributors) Ltd., of 1 Cambridge Park, Wanstead, London, E.11, and is called a "Combination Dip and Fill Unit".

PITCH FIBRE DRAIN PIPES One of the Local Authority members of the Tees-side ~ra?ch .has been approached to allow the use of pitch fibre ~ai~ PIJ?es on a petroleum station forecourt. As this is t e rst Instance of the use of such pipes in this area no o~h~r member of the Branch has been able to get 'any a vice. regarding their use. It was felt that information reg~rdmg the use of pitch fibre drain pipes on petroleum stfathion forecourts might be obtained from other members o t e A · · h ssoc1at10n t rough the medium of The Bulletin. Secretary, Tees-side Branch B. W. C. THACKER

LATCHED AUTOMATIC CUT-OFF NOZZLES 1 I very much hope that just because the Home Office ~ve amended the Model Code to provide for the use of t e above, Petroleum Inspectors will not hurriedly be p~rsuaded to approve these nozzles until they have been t oroughly tested under all circumstances. E As wa_s very clearly shown at a Meeting of the Southast Midland Branch of this Association at Herne! Hempstead arranged to demonstrate this type of apparatus, under certain circumstances a dangerous spillage can occur from latched -!1ozzles, which in my view cannot be regar?ed as safe until they have been designed to prevent fi th1e ~ischarge of petrol unless the nozzle is inserted in the 11 pipe of the vehicle. Epping and Ongar R.D.C. R. A. T. KEMP TESTING OF OLD UNDERGROUND STORAGE TANKS I have received a number of enquiries article in the last issue of The Bulletin on old underground petroleum storage tanks. following my the testing of In the example quoted, the tanks filled with P.F.A. were quite small, 250/500 gallons. After the top pla!es were removed, dry material was mixed with w~ter on site and filled into the tanks as a slurry. A poker vibrator was then used to consolidate the material, which is self setting. It was necessary to return the next day to "top-up" the tanks after settlement. They were then sealed with concrete. Costs appear to be very reasonable. For this particu~ar job they amounted to £38, consisting of £11 for matenal and plant hire and £27 for labour. Jn general terms the cost would appear to be between £20 and £25 a tank. Pumping out water and difficulties in removing rusted top flanges can increase costs to a small extent. P.F.A. should be readily available in most areas. Further enquiries can be made from the Regional P.F.A. Marketing Officer. The actual costs of nitrogen pressure tests have been considerably lower than the estimate quoted, being about £5 to £10 a tank according to circumstances. It would, therefore, not be unreaso:'1able for nitrogen pressure tests to be demanded at the mtervals suggested in the Model Licence Conditions. One correspondent expressed the view that having regard to the fact that the ullage test was the only one specifically recommended i-!1 the Hom~ O~ce Model. ~ode of Principles of Construct10n and L1censmg Cond1tJons, a local authority might have to be satisfied with that test if that was all a licensee was prepared to undertake. Herne Bay U.D.C.

W. F. WELLER

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UNATIENDED SELF-SERVICE

The last issue of The Bulletin contains two reports of the recent visit to Germany to see unattended self-service of petrol at first hand, the first a detailed report by R. P. Thompson, and the second a report to Tees-side Branch by its secretary. Since it is obvious that the oil companies will, after a suitable interval, expect some tangible return in the form of a more tolerant attitude towards unattended self-service, let us consider what has actually been learned from the visit. Apart from the statistics, and details of the equipment, we learn that fire equipment is left out all night and is not interfered with, and that as a general rule motorists using the stations put out cigarettes and switch off their engines. How lucky the German authorities are to have such an honest, well-behaved populace ! Is it seriously suggested that although extinguishers cannot, in this country, be left in unattended car-parks, or in garages attached to large blocks of flats, and although it is difficult to find an undamaged telephone kiosk, extinguishers left on unattended :filling-stations would remain untouched ? The behaviour of the public on unattended sites is of course the main argument against unattended self-service, and the argument which the oil companies are doing their best to play down, even to the extent of claiming that smoking is more prevalent on attended sites than on unattended sites. I note, however, that care is taken to avoid categorical and unequivocal claims-"in a survey . . . there was no instance of smoking by customers reported"-"there seemed to be more smoking on attended forecourts than on self-service stations"-"a motor trader . . . had no instances of smoking while customers filled their vehicles with petrol". (If the site was unattended, how would he know?). These arguments have no merit in them and serve only to emphasise the absence of valid reasons why local authorities could safely dispense with supervision on forecourts.

I think it should be stressed that in recent years there has been no issue quite so fundamentally important as this question of unattended forecourts .. Various concessions have been sought and won, vanous rules and practices have been modified in the face of argument from the industry, and this is quite right. However, to concede the handling of petrol by the public, without supervision by the licensee or his representative, undermines the very structure of petroleum licensing in this country. Concede this issue, and there will be no logical argument for retaining much of the Model Code.

So far only a handful of local authorities have accepted unattended self-service stations, and no great harm has been done. If, however, the Home Office recommends acceptance, or if the Greater London Council allows _even one experimental station in its area, the flood-gates will be open. Before the oil companies step up the we should consider the fact that 1t 1s as recent as Apnl, 1965 that the first unattended self-service station was open'ed, and that there are now 20 or so local ties which accept this type of reta1lmg. I suggest that this is an adequate number for experimental purposes, and that in order to determine just how much public there is for unattended self-service, and whether 1t 1s m the general interest to yield to this hypothetical demand, we need more than the two years which have first station was opened, and we need expenence m this country, not Germany or anywhere else. If the Home Office and/or the G.L.C. would issue a statement that the question of unattended self-service will be looked at again in, say, April, 1969, we should all be given breathing space, and nobody would be the losers: the oil companies would not have been finally rejected, and the large authorities would not prematurely have conceded a vital principle. There would still be sufficient independently-minded authorities prepared to take on unattended self-service on their own judgement, and this would allow the oil companies some further expansion even in the standstill period. On the other hand, those authorities which still have doubts about the wisdom of this practice would have the excuse they need for refusing applications for the time being.

To avoid misunderstanding about my own position, I should explain that in the G.L.C. major policy decisions are not taken by the inspectorate. The G.L.C. is not a member of the Association, and the views which I have expressed are my own. I am sure that I am not alone in having misgivings at the way in which the move for unattended self-service is gaining momentum, and the way in which opposition is giving way to resignation, and "whether" is becoming "when". G.L.C. J. R. DoMONEY

I was most interested in the last lecture at the Residential Mid-Week School, Attingham Park, on "Self-Service Petrol Retailing" and drove off with "Munz Tank, Automatic, Computerised, Note Accepter, Coin Operat?r, Marketing Methods, etc., etc., revolving in slow dazzhng circles in my mind. The possibilities outlined for a fully automated future in the late 1960's and 1970's crowding my thoughts.

An hour's drive from the delightful surroundings of Attingham found me in need of re-fuelling my car. I approached a wayside filling station ready to be served at the usual pace of the conventional garage, but this was no ordinary garage. I sat there in the car as usual and asked the attendant for five gallons, and he duly di_sappeared behind my car. "Could you hold the nozzle ID your tank, please sir", I was asked. Nonplussed I climbed out of the car to comply, and ask why ? Then the became all too apparent-the pumps were the old electncally operated type, but with one cunning addition, they had handles at the rear which were for hand use. "Power cut", I remarked, "No", said the attendant blithely"We don't have electricity". He then went on to hand me the nozzle to place into the tank whilst he pumped to and fro. This nozzle proved to be a type I personally have never seen. It was conical in shape with a brass wing at the end which served as the tap to allow the spmt through. Ten minutes later my tank was full and I drove off, slowly returning through the looking glass to the 1960's and the "Switched On", Computerised", "Psychedelic" world we live in.

Skegness U.D.C.

J. T. AINSWORTH

48