£400,000 in fines in ICL case
August 29, 2007
ICL Plastics Ltd and ICL Tech Ltd have each been fined £200,000 at the High Court in Glasgow, having pleaded guilty to safety breaches in relation to the major explosion and building collapse at the Stockline Plastics factory in Glasgow on 11 May 2004.
The accident killed 9 people and injured more than 40, caused by liquid petroleum gas (LPG) leaking from a corroded pipe and then igniting, leading to the collapse of a four-storey building.
In a statement, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) set out the breaches to which the operators of the Stockline factory, ICL Tech Ltd and ICL Plastics Ltd, pleaded guilty.
ICL Plastics Ltd was charged under ss.2 and 4 of the Health and Safety at Work, etc Act 1974 (HSWA) and ICL Tech Ltd was charged under ss.2 and 3 of the same Act.
The HSE pointed out that the two companies had failed to ensure the safety of their employees and others by failing to carry out a suitable and sufficient risk assessment or have a proper system to inspect and maintain the LPG pipe.
Section 2 of the HSWA requires an employer to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health, safety and welfare of all the employees.
Section 3 requires an employer to conduct undertakings in such a way so as to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, that non-employees are not exposed to risks to their health or safety.
Section 4 of the Act requires a person in control of premises to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, that those premises, and any plant or substances in the premises, are safe and without risk to health.
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