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Student assessed factory's pipes Student assessed factory's pipes
(about 2 hours later)
Risk assessments on buried gas pipes at a Glasgow factory where nine people died in an explosion were carried out by a student on a holiday job.Risk assessments on buried gas pipes at a Glasgow factory where nine people died in an explosion were carried out by a student on a holiday job.
The High Court in Glasgow has been told that a decision was taken by the firms operating the factory in Maryhill not to employ an outside consultant. The High Court in Glasgow also heard that it would have cost just £405 to replace the pipes which corroded and caused the blast.
ICL Plastics and ICL Tech admitted breaching health and safety laws.ICL Plastics and ICL Tech admitted breaching health and safety laws.
They await sentence after pleading guilty to four breaches in relation to the incident in May 2004.They await sentence after pleading guilty to four breaches in relation to the incident in May 2004.
On Monday, the court heard that the supplier of propane gas to the factory did not know that the pipelines, which would have cost £405 to replace, had not been inspected professionally. On Monday, the court was told that the supplier of propane gas to the factory did not know that the pipelines had not been inspected professionally.
A decision had been taken by the firms operating the factory in Maryhill not to employ an outside consultant.
Inspection from within the basement at any time would have revealed an absence of wrapping on the pipework which entered through the bricked-up window Angus Stewart QC
The judge, Lord Brodie, heard that the leaking pipe which caused the explosion was put into the plastics factory in 1969 without corrosion protection.
He was told that in addition to body armour and internal items for aircraft, the factory also manufactured plastic coatings to protect underground pipes from corroding.
Angus Stewart QC, prosecuting, said that once the criminal proceedings were completed a fatal accident inquiry would be held into the deaths.
The explosion happened after propane gas from a corroded pipe leeched into an underground basement and was ignited - possibly when a builder who rented it for storage switched an electric light on.
The blast caused the total collapse of the former four storey Victorian mill.
Mr Stewart said most of the casualties had been working on the second floor.
Relatives and survivors crowded the court as he outlined the four-day rescue operation.
It took half an hour to read out the roll call of 54 people who died, were injured or escaped unharmed.
GLASGOW BLAST VICTIMS Margaret Brownlie, 49, StrathavenAnnette Doyle, 34, GlasgowPeter Ferguson, 52, KilbarchanThomas McAulay, 41, Mount Florida, GlasgowStewart McColl, 60, West KilbrideTracey McErlane, 27, Possilpark, GlasgowKenneth Murray, 45, PaisleyTimothy Smith, 31, JohnstoneAnn Trench, 34, Colston, GlasgowGLASGOW BLAST VICTIMS Margaret Brownlie, 49, StrathavenAnnette Doyle, 34, GlasgowPeter Ferguson, 52, KilbarchanThomas McAulay, 41, Mount Florida, GlasgowStewart McColl, 60, West KilbrideTracey McErlane, 27, Possilpark, GlasgowKenneth Murray, 45, PaisleyTimothy Smith, 31, JohnstoneAnn Trench, 34, Colston, Glasgow
The origins of the tragedy go back to 1969, according to the four charges against ICL Plastics Ltd and ICL Tech Ltd. Mr Stewart said a catalogue of errors over more than 30 years had led to the tragedy.
In or around that year, a propane LPG tank and pipe work, some of it running underground, were installed at the factory. The firm which laid the pipeline in 1969 had no previous experience of laying buried pipelines on land and no record of their specifications existed.
Part of this pipe work came up vertically out of the ground before entering the building. Mr Stewart told the court that the fittings were not wrapped or corrosion protected, contrary to then and now industry guidelines.
Five years later, around 1974, the yard outside the building was raised, burying the exposed section of pipe work. In 1972, because of flooding problems, the pipeline's level was raised and the last section concreted over. Again there was no corrosion protection.
A steel floor was installed in or around 1980 which created an underground basement area, according to the four charges - two against each company - under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974. In 1980 a steel floor was installed over the basement area, sealing it off where the LPG pipeline entered the building.
This meant the previously exposed pipe work was now entering the building at basement level. Mr Stewart said: "All risk assessments were done without the assistance of competent outside persons.
Total collapse "The Crown view is that ICL Tech Ltd and ICL Plastic Ltd were simply not entitled to assume that the underground pipework had been installed to an acceptable standard of corrosion protection.
The charges allege that between 1993 and May 2004 the companies failed to make a suitable assessment of health and safety risks and failed to identify the pipe work as a potential hazard. "Inspection from within the basement at any time would have revealed an absence of wrapping on the pipework which entered through the bricked-up window."
The charges say the companies failed to appoint competent people to carry out measures needed to comply with health and safety legislation, and failed to have a proper system of inspection and maintenance for the pipe work. href="/1/shared/spl/hi/pop_ups/07/uk_stockline_factory_explosion/html/1.stm" onClick="window.open('http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/spl/hi/pop_ups/07/uk_stockline_factory_explosion/html/1.stm', '1187299028', 'toolbar=0,scrollbars=0,location=0,statusbar=0,menubar=0,resizable=1,width=500,height=400,left=312,top=100'); return false;">Rescue workers searched for 72 hours for survivors href="/1/shared/spl/hi/pop_ups/07/uk_stockline_factory_explosion/html/1.stm" onClick="window.open('http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/spl/hi/pop_ups/07/uk_stockline_factory_explosion/html/1.stm', '1187299028', 'toolbar=0,scrollbars=0,location=0,statusbar=0,menubar=0,resizable=1,width=500,height=400,left=312,top=100'); return false;" >In pictures
They also failed to ensure there was no risk to employees from the pipe work. Mike Jones QC, defending the two companies, said the tragedy was attributable to "inadvertence rather than anything more blameworthy".
All sections of the buried pipe work deteriorated and corroded, as did a cast-iron bend joining two sections of the pipe work. He said the fact that no-one smelled gas indicated that the filling up of the basement area had been "rapid".
This led to an escape of propane gas that accumulated in the basement area in a cloud which ignited and exploded, resulting in the total collapse of the building. He said that culpability normally ranged from wilful disregard to the law down to a non-negligent or inadvertent breach.
He added: "This is not a case of the type, for example, in which dangers were deliberately courted, or obvious risks were taken for the sake of profit which, rightly, attracts very severe penalties."
He claimed the two companies sought advice from their gas supplier in late 1988 who advised that Health and Safety Executive recommendations that the pipe be excavated and examined need not be followed.
Mr Jones asked Lord Brodie to set the fine at a level which would prevent the companies from going bust so that continuing employment could be secured for its workforce.
He added: "No amount of fine will bring back those who died. Many who were injured still rely on these companies to provide for them and their families.
"It would only add to the tragedy if further hardship was inflicted on the survivors and their work colleagues."