Norfolk Chemical firm fined £1 Million

A Norfolk chemical company was fined £1million after a man died in an explosion. A maintenance engineer was carrying out repair work on a mixing vessel during a planned period of shutdown maintenance in 2018. It is thought that his welding torch or grinder accidentally ignited flammable Toluene vapour inside the vessel, which should not have been present when the work commenced. An HSE Inspector said “Any company handling or storing flammables should consider the potential risk of fire and explosion and ensure they have robust procedures in place to minimise and control risk at all times, including during planned maintenance work.”