CHEMICAL BLAZE COSTS COMPANY £240,000
A large international waste management company has been fined £150,000 and ordered to pay £90,000 costs after a huge blaze at a plant in Lancashire. Parts of the M6 and the M55 had to be closed as 66 fire fighters tackled the blaze. Veolia ES Cleanaway (UK) Ltd was found guilty of offences under the Dangerous Substances and Explosive Atmosphere Regulations 2002. The fire is thought to have been caused by Lithium batteries igniting in an area used to store flammable solids which was adjacent to an area used to store flammable liquids. The batteries should have been stored in water tight containers to prevent them from spotaneously combusting and well away from other dangerous articles. No risk assessment had been completed and workers were found to be inadequately trained regarding the storage of batteries and dealing with explosion hazards.
The HSE ordered the Company to rewrite its site operating procedures after the event and the Fire Authority issued 3 enforcement notices for contraventions of fire prevention Regulations.
The Company regretted the incident and closed the site voluntarily whilst improvement measures were implemented.
This case goes to show that health and safety failures can lead to massive fines and additional costs following incidents that are totally preventable. If suitable and sufficient risk assessments and training procedures had been implemented the fire would not have started.
