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Record fine for fatal gas explosion
26th Feb, 2006 to 26th Jul, 2006
Transco PLC has been fined a total of £15 million at the High Court of Justiciary in Edinburgh, under Section 3 of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974. The jury returned a guilty verdict following a six-month trial.
On 22 December 1999 at 5.30am a massive explosion destroyed number 42 Carlisle Road, Larkhall. The house had been occupied by the Findlay family, all four of whom were killed in the blast. There was extensive damage to neighbouring properties. A strong smell of gas in the immediate aftermath of the explosion led to an enquiry focusing on a possible gas leak as the cause of the explosion.
An investigation by officials from the HSE showed that there were holes in the 250mm medium-pressure ductile iron pipe that ran through the front garden of number 42.
Gas leaking from the main found its way into the under-floor void and subsequently the kitchen of the property where it ignited. The precise source of ignition could not be determined but could have been a gas hob or other source in the kitchen.
Commenting outside the court, John Sumner, head of HSE’s Chemical Unit in Scotland, said: “With regard to pipeline safety, it should be noted that HSE served an improvement notice in September 2000 to accelerate Transco’s mains replacement programme. This resulted in the replacement of all known sections of the sort of main that ruptured at Larkhall in the three years after the accident. In other words, some 2,500km of ductile iron medium-pressure gas mains were replaced by plastic pipeline.
The conviction sends a message not just to Transco but to all operators of hazardous plant of the need to keep accurate records, operate effective management systems and properly maintain pipelines and equipment”.