2ND UPDATE: Firms Fined GPB9.5Mln For UK Buncefield Disaster

16th Jul 2010 16:56

(Adds quote from judge, background.) By Lananh Nguyen Of Dow Jones Newswires LONDON (Dow Jones)--Five companies Friday were fined a total of GBP9.5 million for their involvement in a massive fire and explosions at the Buncefield oil storage depot in Dec. 2005--the largest blaze in peacetime Europe, U.K. safety and environment regulators said. The companies had shown "a slackness, inefficiency and a more or less complacent attitude to safety," Crown Court justice David Calvert-Smith said at the end a four-month trial. Total UK, the refining and marketing subsidiary of Total SA (TOT) in the U.K., was fined GBP3.6 million and will pay an additional GBP2.6 million legal costs for failing to prevent the fire at its oil depot. Total's fine was the second-highest ever to be handed down for safety offences in the U.K., the Health and Safety Executive said in a joint statement with the Environment Agency. The fire injured 43 people and caused major damage to nearby property. It was the U.K.'s most costly industrial incident, racking up more than GBP1 billion in costs, the regulators said. "Businesses in this sector must manage the risks they create effectively because when things go wrong, the consequences are severe and can destroy lives and shatter local communities," Kevin Myers, HSE's deputy chief executive said in a statement. Lee Young, Total UK's head of legal and company secretary said in an emailed statement: "I would like to take this opportunity to reiterate how sorry we are to all those who have been affected by the incident." "We fully accept our responsibilities for the events that took place at Buncefield in 2005 and recognize the devastating consequences that the incident has had on the surrounding communities and businesses," he said. Hertfordshire Oil Storage Ltd, a joint venture 60%-owned by Total and 40% owned by Chevron Corp. (CVX), was fined GBP1.4 million with costs of GBP1 million. British Pipeline Agency Ltd., in which BP PLC (BP) and Royal Dutch Shell PLC (RDSB) both own a 50% share, was fined GBP300,000 and ordered to pay costs of GBP480,000. TAV Engineering Ltd. and Motherwell Control Systems 2003 Ltd. were both ordered to pay GBP1,500 in fines and legal costs. Des Collins, a solicitor representing some families in Hemel Hempstead where the fire took place, criticized the fines as being too lenient and said they were "hardly even a slap on the wrists for endangering the lives and livelihoods of so many." "The sentences in this case do not even begin to punish the companies, given the extent of some of their profits," Collins said in an e-mailed statement. "This is hardly an incentive to encourage those in management to do everything they can to ensure it doesn't happen again, given that the largest fine handed out to date in the U.K. is approximately GBP15 million. This is a drop in the ocean to French oil giant Total." In November, Total pleaded guilty to three charges related to the disaster, including failure to ensure the health and safety of its employees. BPA also pleaded guilty to charges that it hadn't taken necessary measures to prevent major accidents. Regulators are also investigating a June 29 blaze at Total's Lindsey Oil Refinery in Immingham, eastern England, in which one worker was killed. -By Lananh Nguyen, Dow Jones Newswires; +44 (0)20-7842-9479; [email protected] (Benoit Faucon contributed to this report.) (END) Dow Jones Newswires July 16, 2010 11:56 ET (15:56 GMT)