Stockline explosion inquiry ends

Sasha Wood | News | HSP
19.11.2008

The public inquiry into the Stockline explosion that killed nine workers in Scotland has ended. Chair of the inquiry Lord Gill is expected to announce his recommendations shortly.

The blast at the ICL Plastics factory has been described as Scotland's worst industrial disaster since Piper Alpha. It was caused by a leak from a corroded underground LPG (liquefied petroleum gas) pipe passing through a wall into the basement of the factory. The gas was probably ignited by an electrical spark when someone activated the lights.

ICL Plastics and holding company ICL Tech were found culpable for the incident under the Health and Safety at Work Act and were both fined £200,000. But the penalty was condemned by relatives of the workers as no deterrent.

Following the court case, a public inquiry was launched to see what lessons could be learned to prevent similar incidents in the future.

Anne Ferguson and Louise Smith, who lost their husbands in the explosion, released a statement at the close of the inquiry saying they believe the accident would have been prevented if the HSE had followed its 1988 recommendation to excavate the underground pipework. In its closing statement to the inquiry, the HSE conceded that it regrets "its own interventions in relation to the buried pipework were not more successful."

Lord Gill is expected to support the recommendations made to the inquiry by independent consultant Rod Sylvester-Evans. These include a strategy to replace all buried metallic LPG pipes in high risk areas, introduce a safety dossier and improve communication between LPG suppliers and users so that it is clear who is responsible for each part of the LPG system.

There had been confusion over who was responsible for the corroded pipeline in the aftermath of the incident, and Smith and Ferguson called on LPG supplier Calor to accept responsibility for its part in the disaster.