28 August 2007
HMA v ICL Plastics Ltd and ICL Tech Ltd
Media Statement
Following the conclusion of proceedings at the High Court in Glasgow today, Catherine Dyer, Area Procurator Fiscal for Glasgow, said:
"Health and safety failures by ICL Plastics Ltd and ICL Tech Ltd over several years resulted in the explosion on 11 May 2004 which caused nine people to lose their lives.
"Within a matter of minutes life for the families who lost a loved one and for the survivors, changed forever.
"The painstaking process of gathering and analysing evidence began that day. With over 120 police officers and teams of Health and Safety Executive staff working on site during the following weeks, 5.5 thousand tonnes of rubble were sifted and sorted. In the course of that sift documents which filled more than 1200 one-ton bags were recovered and examined.
"Following this necessarily lengthy process, detailed consideration of numerous complex legal issues, and painstaking preparation for trial by the Crown team, both companies submitted guilty pleas to all charges against them, saving those caught up in the tragic events of that day from the additional trauma of reliving their experiences from the witness stand.
"The facts presented to the court over the past two days have allowed the families of those who died and survivors to hear how such a tragedy came about.
"Our thoughts remain with all those who have suffered so much as a result of the events which unfolded in May 2004."
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