Health and safety chief must accept blame

Published on Thursday 16 July 2009 21:56

THE explosion at the Stockline plastics factory in Glasgow in May 2004 killed nine people and injured 33. Yesterday, a public inquiry headed by a senior judge found that the industrial accident at the ICL Plastics factory was an "avoidable disaster". Lord Gill criticised not only ICL but the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), the workplace watchdog, which he said had still not come up with "a coherent action plan" to deal with "the risk of a recurrence" of a liq

ICL was fined 400,000. This was modest, given the infraction, but any more might have bankrupted the firm. As for HSE, it has ruled out taking disciplinary action against any of its staff over regulatory failures in the run-up to the explosion, or subsequently. Indeed, the chairwoman of the HSE, Judith Hackitt, had the temerity to give a public interview the day before Lord Gill published his report, denying that the watchdog was "in any way culpable" for the disaster.

Since when did the chair of the UK's main safety agency try to pre-empt the findings of a public inquiry, which as it turned out was about to criticise her organisation? Ms Hackitt should consider her position.

Once again a serious accident has occurred in which people died and yet no individual is being held to account. And the very body that is supposed to protect workers has been found wanting. As long as this continues, there will be more "avoidable disasters".