STORAGE AND CONTROL OF DANGEROUS SUBSTANCES MUST BE TAKEN SERIOUSLY, SAYS HSE

HSE Press release E244:03 - 8 December 2003

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has issued a warning on the importance of safe storage and control of dangerous substances following the conclusion of a court case last week.

Cleansing Services Group Ltd (CSG), of Botley, Southampton, were fined £250,000 plus £400,000 prosecution costs at Gloucester Crown Court last Friday (5 December 2003) after pleading guilty to 15 charges of breaching environmental and health and safety law.

Chris Eaton, Principal Inspector with HSE's Hazardous Installations Directorate, said: "The charges brought by HSE in this case relate to the lack of adequate arrangements at the CSG site for the safe storage of dangerous substances. If the company had put in place simple measures of effectively segregating different types of hazardous waste this major incident could have been avoided.

"It is essential that all companies dealing with chemical waste implement suitable arrangements for storing dangerous substances to ensure not only the safety of their own staff but also of the general public in the vicinity of their site."

The prosecutions followed a joint HSE and Environment Agency investigation into a
fire at the company's waste treatment site at Sandhurst, Gloucestershire, on Monday 30 October 2000.

Fire broke out at around 2.00 am in a hazardous waste storage area. Several explosions followed and firefighters fought to control the blaze. A number of people were evacuated from nearby houses. After the fire, local residents reported feeling ill and investigations later revealed that a number of toxic substances would have been released, including hydrogen chloride and phosgene.

In summary, the investigation findings were:

• the most likely cause was the storage of bottles containing chemicals that could react together;
• the fire spread due to the failure to follow published guidelines on separation and segregation of flammable materials;
• containers of waste were stored incorrectly and had been kept on site longer than permitted;
• drums of low-level radioactive material were found on the site. CSG were not authorised to accumulate or dispose of such materials;
• CSG failed to comply with their site working plan. Areas of failure included: waste verification, qualifications for technical sales personnel, testing and maintenance of the wells where waste was treated, storage of waste and keeping records of hazardous waste movement.

Mark Harris, counsel for the Agency and HSE, told the Court: "The company's conduct fell well below the applicable standard and the range and extent of offences admitted by the company demonstrated ingrained and fundamental management failings".

"A high degree of risk and extensive danger was created by the fire and its releases which impacted on the health of local residents. The company illegally allowed hazardous waste to be buried under part of the their site, accepted radioactive waste when it was not authorised to do so and lost control of wastes including selenium and BSE-contaminated solvents."

Sentencing the company, His Honour Judge Tabor QC, said: "There were clear, serious failures of management in a number of key areas. The company failed to adequately protect their own workers and local residents."

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