The Northern Ireland Water Service has been held responsible for the death of a contractor killed in an explosion at a treatment works in 2005. The welder in question lost his life and a colleague was seriously injured in the explosion at Carnmoney Treatment Works, Eglinton near Londonderry in June 2005. As the Water Service has Crown immunity and cannot be prosecuted, a Crown censure hearing was held behind closed doors in December 2006 following an investigation by the Health and Safety Executive for Northern Ireland (HSE NI) who found considerable shortcomings in risk management procedures for the works.
Adequate steps had not been taken to prevent the risk of an explosion occurring during construction work near a source of hydrogen gas, which became ignited as a result causing a violent explosion. A storage tank was then blasted 200ft in the air and through the roof of the water works, where the men in question were working.
The Water Service accepted the censure under the Health and Safety at Work (Northern Ireland) Order SI 1978/1039 and the Dangerous Substances and Explosives Atmospheres Regulations (Northern Ireland) SR 2003/152, and presented information to the hearing that showed measures had been put in place since the blast to prevent it happening again. Urgent inspections of around 20 other treatment works have since been carried out, but Government Ministers are confident the circumstances will not be repeated.
