GSK fined over factory blast

Prosecutions and Claims |
09.09.2008

Pharmaceuticals giant GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) has been fined £50,000 following an explosion and fire at its chemical plant in Irvine, Ayrshire, in March 2006.

Two workers were badly burned and others were treated for shock after the blast at the company's Actives facility, where raw chemicals used in the production of malaria and HIV drugs are treated. Twenty people were in the factory at the time.

Kilmarnock Sheriff Court heard that one side of the building was blown off in the explosion, which was caused by a chemical reaction during the development of a new anti-malaria drug. The plant's sprinkler system extinguished the subsequent fire.

GSK admitted two breaches of health and safety legislation. Sheriff Seith Ireland imposed a penalty of £75,000, which was reduced to £50,000 on account of the firm's early guilty plea. Sheriff Ireland also took into consideration the firm's immediate action after the incident, and its cooperation with the HSE.

He said GSK had been responsible for equipment and procedure failures, but the incident was a result of "the interaction of a number of highly complex events."

GSK's site director of the Irvine plant, Jim McPherson, said after the case, "We sincerely regret that two of our long-serving employees were seriously injured as a result of an accident at the site. Thankfully both employees have made a full recovery and they have since returned to work ...

"We recognise that this accident was traumatic for all those working at site and the local community, and have fully accepted responsibility. The failures identified that resulted in this accident have been fully addressed."

GSK has previously been fined £20,000 for an explosion at the same site in 1999.