Carlsberg brewery fined £3m after ‘explosive release of gas’ kills dad of two
A British brewery has been forced to pay out £3million after a father-of-two was killed by an “explosive release of gas” at the site.
The shocking incident took place at Carlsberg's Northampton brewery in November 2016.
David Chandler had been on site removing a compressor from a refrigeration system, but the contractors work went wrong.
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While taking the compressor out, there was a huge, uncontrolled release of ammonia which killed the-then 45-year-old and injured another man, David Bleak.
Another 20 people were sent to hospital after showing signs of ammonia exposure.
It took several days to contain the leak before staff could re-enter the site.
The company, known then as Carlsberg Supply Company UK Ltd, but now called CMBC Supply Ltd, pleaded guilty to three breaches of health and safety laws.
Judge Mr Justice Picken said at Birmingham Magistrates’ Court this week: “Carlsberg admits these failings, specifically a failure to ensure the health and safety, so far as was reasonably practicable, of employees and non-employees alike.
“In this case, the material risk – the possibility of harm – to which employees and non-employees were exposed was the risk to health and safety from the possible escape of ammonia.
“A large number of people were exposed to that risk.
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“Had appropriate isolations been in place… the incident would not have occurred.”
“It is not in dispute that this is a case where the level of culpability is properly to be regarded as high.”
Mrs Chandler said, in a statement, that she and her daughters missed her husband and father every day and that there is now “a gap that no one can fill”.
Sadly, Mr Chandler's father died a year later, and his daughter-in-law said that he “never recovered” from losing his son.
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Paul Davies, chief executive officer of Carlsberg Supply Company UK Ltd, said: “We strive to attain and maintain the highest standards of health and safety management for our employees.
“Through our guilty plea to the charges and much earlier acceptance of responsibility, we recognise that on this occasion we did not meet these high standards.
“All remedial measures have since been taken and lessons learnt. As a company, we will continue to put health and safety at the forefront of how we operate.”
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