CORUS UK fined £1.3 million for blast furnace deaths

E116:06 15 December 2006

Steelmaker Corus UK Ltd has today been fined £1,333,000 and ordered to pay costs of £1,744,474.74 following charges brought by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). Three workers died in 2001 from a blast furnace explosion at the company's Port Talbot site.

Stephen Galsworthy, Andrew Hutin and Leonard Radford were fatally injured in a massive explosion within Blast Furnace no. 5 at the Corus works on 8 November 2001. The company pleaded guilty yesterday before Swansea Crown Court to two charges of failing to ensure the safety of their employees and others brought by HSE under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974.

In a statement at the conclusion of the case, HSE Director for Wales, Terry Rose said: "Having met with the families of Mr Galsworthy, Mr Hutin and Mr Radford over the last five years I want to pay tribute to them.  I have seen their grief and frustration, and we should all recognise that whatever has happened today cannot bring back their loved ones.  Fines are insignificant alongside that.

"This was systematic corporate management failure at the Port Talbot works. Proper management attention may have broken the chain which led to the explosion. I hope Corus, and indeed the iron and steel industry worldwide, learn from Port Talbot and make sure that those lessons are put into practice in their management systems, and maintained.

"This must be a wake up call for the industry. The process is centuries old but the risks need to be managed to the highest modern standards."

The explosion was caused by water in the furnace coming into sudden contact with hot material.  As water turned into steam it expanded rapidly, creating pressure, which blew a confined vessel apart.

Terry Rose went on to say: "As far as we can establish an explosion of this magnitude is unprecedented in any blast furnace anywhere in the world.  

"The proper design, maintenance and operation of the water cooling system are vital to the safe operation of the furnace and the ability to detect, and stop, water leaking into the furnace in quantity is very important.  Corus failed to do this in relation to Blast Furnace 5.  Those failings were spread over many years, with many different people involved.  That is why HSE prosecuted the company, rather than any individuals.  

"Since the event, HSE has continued to work with Corus to improve its safety management, and will continue to do so but none of this can bring back the men who died, or guarantee that it can never happen again." 

Notes to editors

1. Corus UK Ltd was charged with a breach of Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974, in that the company did not ensure, so far as was reasonably practicable, the safety of its employees, including Stephen Galsworthy, Andrew Hutin and Leonard Radford, in connection with the operation of Blast Furnace Number 5.

2. Corus UK Ltd was also charged with breaching Section 3(1) of the Act, in that the company did not conduct its undertaking, namely the operation of Blast Furnace Number 5, in such a way as to ensure, so far as was reasonably practicable, that persons not in its employment, namely contractors, were not exposed to risks to their safety.

3. The maximum penalty in the Crown Court for any offence under these provisions is an unlimited fine.

4. HSE will publish a full report into the incident in 2007.

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