Chemical giant Solvay Solutions UK Limited has been fined after a dangerous gas was released into the atmosphere from their Trinity Street site in Oldbury on 2 January 2009. This caused disruption to the M5 and thousands of nearby homes.
An uncontrolled release of phosphorus and phosphine spontaneously ignited upon contact with air to produce phosphorous pentoxide. This reacted with the moisture in the air to produce a mist of phosphoric acid which drifted to a densely populated area. Police were forced to set up road closures in the vicinity of the site, and local sections of the M5 were closed by the Highways Agency. Around 4,500 people were asked to remain indoors for 2-3 hours.
The incident was reported to the European Commission, and Solvay, formerly Rhodia UK Limited, was fined a total of £333,000 and ordered to pay costs of £110,000 after pleading guilty to an offence under the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974. The resulting Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigation found that a welded steel bar ("rodder") failed at the weld and broke in two. One piece fell back and the other piece pulled clear, leaving an opening through which the dangerous substance escaped. Solvay had failed to properly assess and act upon the risk of the rodder failing.
HSE inspector Kay Brookes, said: "This was a long and complex case, but at the heart of it lay the fact that this company's actions caused an incident that affected the public and workers. The loss of containment and failure in Solvay's systems caused huge disruption and the outcomes could have been far worse.
"This case should serve as a warning to other companies dealing with harmful substances that they need to get their processes absolutely right, in order to ensure the safety of the public, if they don't they will face the consequences."
