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Storage and control of dangerous substances must be taken seriously
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HSE InfoLine
: 08 December, 2003 (Company News) |
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The Health and Safety Executive has issued a warning on the importance of safe storage and control of dangerous substances following the conclusion of a court case last week. |
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The Health and Safety Executive 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, 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. |
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