Health and Safety Executive admits failings before factory blast

HEALTH and safety officials have admitted to serious failings in the years leading up to a factory explosion which killed nine people.

They said lessons had been learned and action was already being taken to improve inspection procedures.

The admission came from the Health and Safety Executive in a letter to ministers in Westminster and Holyrood.

It follows last month’s findings of an inquiry headed by Lord Gill into the ICL plastics factory explosion in Glasgow in May 2004.

Lord Gill’s report found “serious failings” by health and safety chiefs in the years leading up to the disaster.

After his report was published, Work and Pensions Secretary Yvette Cooper gave the safety executive chairwoman Judith Hackitt, eight weeks to respond to the accusations of serious failings, and to look at ways of strengthening the safety of liquid petroleum gas installations.

The Glasgow explosion happened after underground piping installed in 1969 corroded over the years.

Inspectors visited the factory regularly over a 30-year period, but only once raised concerns over the underground pipe. When gas leaking from the pipe ignited the explosion killed nine people and a further 33 were seriously injured.

In the response yesterday, sent to Ms Cooper, Scottish Secretary Jim Murphy and Holyrood Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill, Ms Hackitt said Lord Gill’s report was “fair and accurate”.

“Let me reiterate my commitment to you that we have learned the lessons from this tragic incident and we have in place arrangements to assure ourselves that actions are being implemented.”

She set out a list of general management improvements already under way and said they had already moved on from the inspection practices of the 1980s and 1990s.