Health and Safety Report 2019

HEALTH & SAFETY REPORT 2019

Figure 5 shows the releases with a severity classification of major only. Annual fluctuations aside, the general trend has been of reduction, but in recent years the number of major releases had plateaued at two or three per year. Four major releases are identified in the 2018 results below, although the HSE has indicated that it believes at least one additional release is likely to be assigned to the major category, once classified. This increase in the most serious releases has driven the development of a co-ordinated industry drive to address the root causes.

Figure 5: Major Hydrocarbon Releases

30

Three-Year Moving Average

25

20

15

Number of Releases

10

5

0

1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017* 2018

* 2017 data includes one as yet unclassified release expected to be major

Source: Health and Safety Executive, 2019

14