Thurrock chemical company slapped with £2.5 million fine after toxic gas leaks threatened public safety with schools and businesses closed
A THURROCK-based chemical manufacturing company has been fined £2.5m following two incidents that led to closure of businesses and schools and a cloud of toxic gas blowing over the borough.
Industrial Chemicals Ltd pleaded guilty following incidents in 2020 of uncontrolled releases of highly corrosive acids from its site on Stoneness Road in West Thurrock, one of which caused the release of a hydrogen chloride gas cloud from three chemical storage tanks.
Three hundred thousand litres of the substance was released via poorly maintained pipework on 6 January.
As it came into contact with the atmosphere, this created a hydrogen chloride gas cloud which spread to nearby towns. Nearby CCTV footage shows the atmosphere being engulfed in the cloud within 60 seconds.
Due to the risk to local residents of exposure to the migrating fumes, advice was provided by emergency responders to close windows and doors. Some schols and businesses closed down.
Hydrochloric acid is highly corrosive and hydrogen chloride is a toxic gas. The incident lasted approximately 24 hours.
On 29 August 2020 another uncontrolled release, this time of sulphuric acid, occurred due to a crack in a pipe.
This resulted in the release of 87 cubic metres of sulphuric acid being released into the atmosphere. The valve that was designed to control leaks in the event of cracks did not operate as intended, leading to the uncontrolled release, increasing the risks to operators and delivery drivers.
Sulphuric acid is highly corrosive and can cause lung damage if high levels are breathed in.
A joint investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and Environment Agency (EA) into the release of the hydrochloric acid in January 2020 found that pipework had not been installed, maintained and inspected sufficiently which led to several smaller pipe failures before the more serious loss of containment.
The investigation found that pipework had not been properly maintained, and a protective chemical-resistant coating had not been applied to the full height of containment walls.
An investigation by HSE into the release of sulphuric acid in August 2020 identified a lack of inspection and maintenance of the pipework and valves.
The leak continued for a further two days due to the inability to operate a manual valve to stop the process. The loss of containment was eventually stopped on 31 August 2020. Fortunately, no one was harmed.
In a hearing at Westminster Combined Court last week (Friday 28 March), the company was fined £2.4 million in relation to charges under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and a further £100,000 in relation to charges under the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2016.
HSE principal inspector Maria Strangward said: "The uncontrolled release of significant quantities of hazardous substances in these cases was entirely avoidable.
"An appropriate planned maintenance programme should have been in place to ensure that pipes do not fail, and valves operate. The proactive maintenance of pipework and safety critical valves is extremely important at sites such as these.
"Industrial Chemicals Limited's West Thurrock site is classified as an upper tier site under the Control of Major Accident Regulations 2015, so that businesses and communities are protected, and potential major accidents avoided."
Adrian Sherman, Environment Agency regulatory officer, said: "The Environment Agency takes its regulatory responsibilities seriously to protect communities and the environment.
"We expect businesses to comply with their environmental permits and will take appropriate enforcement action when they fail to do so. In this case, an appropriate inspection and maintenance programme could have prevented an environmental and public health risk."
The HSE prosecution was brought by enforcement lawyer Samantha Wells, who said: "At the sentencing hearing the judge noted the previous history of poor health and safety standards by this defendant, which included previous incidents relating to poor maintenance of pipework at this site showing a careless attitude to health and safety which was treated as an aggravating factor which uplifted the sentence imposed."
Related stories:
https://thurrock.nub.news/news/local-news/teams-work-to-dilute-chemicals-after-spill
https://thurrock.nub.news/news/local-news/schools-closed-in-wake-of-chemical-spillage
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