An agri-chemicals firm has been ordered to pay out over £60,000 after it released a toxic chlorine gas that spread through the surrounding area resulting in staff needing hospital treatment.
The incident, which happened in June 2019, also caused significant damage to the Wiltshire-based factory, Basingstoke Magistrates’ Court heard on 4 October 2022.
GEA Farm Technologies (UK) Ltd mistakenly mixed an Intermediate Bulk Container (IBC) containing 700kg of concentrated sulphuric acid into a mixing vessel which already contained 1,600 litres of sodium hypochlorite solution.
The chemicals reacted releasing a large cloud of toxic chlorine gas, which CCTV footage showed as it permeated the factory and surrounding area.
There was no clear evacuation plan for workers caught on-site, with several taken to hospital with breathing difficulties – fortunately no one suffered long-term effects.
A Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigation found the incident happened because a dedicated mixing plant had not been brought back into service after maintenance work.
The safety watchdog found that the company had failed to introduce effective records management for the temporary manual system.
GEA Farm Technologies, based in Warminster, Wiltshire pleaded guilty to breaching health and safety legislation and were fined £40,000.
The firm was also ordered to pay costs of £22,000 during a hearing at Basingstoke Magistrates’ Court on 4 October 2022.
HSE Inspector, Malcolm Whyatt, said: “In this case several workers were put at risk from a cloud of chlorine gas which drifted uncontrolled through their workplace.
“The company had previously designed their system to eliminate the possibility of human error, by reverting to a manual process they created a situation where mixing incompatible chemicals was possible.
"Chlorine can have severe health effects at very low levels, and they were fortunate that no-one was more seriously injured.”
