‘HIGH RISK OF MAJOR EXPLOSION’ AT MILL
Wood dust build-up caused second blast
A MILL where four workers were killed in an explosion had a ‘superficial’ risk assessment and a build-up of dangerous wood dust, an expert has told a court.
Maintenance fitter William Barks, aged 51, of Cheddleton; cleaner Dorothy Bailey, aged 62, from Bosley; chargehand Jason Shingler, aged 38, of Congleton; and mill worker Derek Moore, aged 62, of Goldenhill, died when an explosion destroyed the Wood Treatment Ltd (WTL) mill in Bosley, Cheshire, on July 17, 2015.
Wood Treatment Ltd and mill owner George Boden, 65, deny their manslaughter.
Giving evidence at the Nightingale court at Chester Town Hall, principal safety inspector Sam Summerfield told the jury there was a ‘very large gap’ between the procedures which should have been carried out at the mill and what actually happened.
He said: “The risk of there being a major explosion is high because of the big gap there exists between what should have been in place and what was in place.”
Mr Summerfield told the court it was likely the explosion was caused by an ‘initiating incident’ within the mill and then there was a secondary blast, caused by a build-up of wood dust.
He added: “There is evidence in regard to accumulation of dust within the mill over an extended period of time.
“It wasn’t everywhere all the time but for long periods of time there was enough there.”
Mr Summerfield told the court wood dust was a dangerous substance, and the court has heard evidence from former workers of ‘mounds’ of sawdust in areas.
When asked about the control measures in place to stop an explosion, Mr Summerfield said: “The picture is not good.”
He said the risk assessment the mill had in place was ‘superficial’ and there was no evidence there had been any consideration of safety processes when changes were made to the plant after it was bought by Boden and his two brothers in 2008.
Mr Summerfield said the housekeeping regime within the mill – where Mrs Bailey was the only cleaner – was not sufficient and there was evidence it was not effective.
He also said evidence of activations of a Firefly system, which alerted staff when it detected sparks within the mill, showed controls to stop ignition sources were failing.
Wood Treatment Ltd has admitted a health and safety offence, but denies four counts of corporate manslaughter.
Boden, of Stockport, denies four counts of gross negligence manslaughter and a health and safety offence.
Mill manager Peter Shingler, 57, of Bosley, and operations manager Phil Smith, 59, of Macclesfield, both deny a health and safety offence.
The trial continues.