Carlsberg Supply fined, ordered to pay costs after ammonia leak

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Carlsberg Supply fined, ordered to pay costs after ammonia leak

Carlsberg Supply Company UK Ltd, now known as CMBC Supply Ltd, admitted health and safety breaches at magistrates in 2020 and has been fined and ordered to pay 90,000 costs at Birmingham Crown Court.

Chandler died after inhaling ammonia. He was married and had two daughters, aged one and five at the time.

HSE said Carlsberg had failed to put in place appropriate isolation controls to prevent exposure to ammonia before work started to remove a compressor from a refrigeration system.

It was several days before the leak was contained and gas levels dropped to a safe level, the HSE said.

The legal process has been emotionally exhausting as well as frustrating given the length of time lapsed since the accident. The statement said: We are devastated that his young family will not be able to share their lives with him as they grow.

Paul Davies, chief executive of CMBC Supply Ltd, said: We strive to achieve and maintain the highest standards of health and safety management for our employees.

We recognize that we did not meet these high standards on this occasion, because of our guilty plea to the charges and earlier acceptance of responsibility.

All remedial measures have been taken and lessons learned. As a company we will continue to put health and safety at the forefront of how we operate. Crowley Carbon UK Ltd, a contractor on a project to remove a compressor, was charged but the company was placed into compulsory administration before court proceedings began.