Two companies have been fined after two pest control contractors, 34 and 49, died while carrying out pest control work at a chicken factory on October 4, 2018. The men had entered an area full of concentrated nitrogen pumped from a chiller system. When the duo failed to return home from work the night before, their families called the police. The court heard both of the men died from asphyxiation when nitrogen gas built up in the pathway at the side of the chicken factory as they carried out routine pest control work. There were no warning signs to indicate they were stepping into a dangerous atmosphere, the court heard.
In court, the Nitrogen gas supplier, which had designed the system, was fined £2,475,000 after previously pleading guilty to breaching health and safety rules. The plant was fined £900, but the judge said this would have been substantially more had the company not entered liquidation.
Police said the factory had introduced a system in May 2017 to pump waste nitrogen gas away from the site and into the atmosphere. Following concerns that gas was accumulating near the site, temporary modifications were made on three (3) occasions over a 13-month period. On the day the men arrived, temporary ducting had slipped down the factory’s roof and released concentrated nitrogen into a confined passageway. The court heard that the gas was supposed to be controlled safely, but risks were not properly considered, and there were no checks or monitoring.
Prosecutors described the incident as a “cavalier” safety failure, while the victim’s families say in an emotional tribute how their lives “changed forever” after the sudden deaths.
Prosecutor said: “Ultimately, they were killed by a colorless, odorless gas. When they walked into the passageway, they were given no warning of the risks.”
The men’s bodies were found at around 1 am in the one-man-width corridor between the factory and nearby railway tracks, with evidence of frozen hands and faces.
CCTV footage played to the court showed the pair arriving at the factory at around 8.30 am. They were last seen alive at 11.40 am. Relatives reported the men missing after they failed to return home that evening, sparking a search which led to the horror discovery.
The N2 had come from a dislodged duct pipe connected to a chilling system that the factory used to process chickens, the court heard.
Prosecutor told the court: “When these men entered the passageway, ducting had become detached, pumping nitrogen into a narrow space.”
Concerns had been raised in the past about mist drifting across railway platforms near the site, the hearing was told.
This led to a number of changes to the system in the months before the men were found. But the prosecutor said the work had not been carried out safely, arguing the company had failed to protect workers on site.
Banham Poultry Limited and Air Products plc have admitted health and safety offenses on the basis that the breaches caused the deaths.