Essex chemical manufacturing company fined £2.5m following uncontrolled acid releases
4th April 2025
An Essex-based chemical manufacturing company has been fined £2.5 million following two incidents of uncontrolled releases of highly corrosive acids at its site in West Thurrock.
Industrial Chemicals Ltd, among other things, manufactures products that are used in the production of fertilisers and animal feed supplements.
The company pleaded guilty following the incidents in 2020, one of which caused the release of a hydrogen chloride gas cloud that resulted in schools in the area to close.
The first incident on 6th January 2020 resulted in an uncontrolled release of hydrochloric acid from three chemical storage tanks, HSE confirmed.
Three hundred thousand litres of the substance were released via poorly maintained pipework. As it came into contact with the atmosphere, this created a hydrogen chloride gas cloud which spread to nearby towns.
Nearby CCTV footage shows the atmosphere being engulfed in the cloud within 60 seconds.
Local businesses were affected, and schools in West Thurrock and Chafford Hundred were advised to close. Due to the risk to local residents of exposure to the migrating fumes, advice was provided by emergency responders to close windows and doors.
Hydrochloric acid is highly corrosive, and hydrogen chloride is a toxic gas. The incident lasted approximately 24 hours.
Pipework installed, maintained and inspected insufficiently
On 29th August 2020, another uncontrolled release, this time of sulphuric acid, occurred due to a crack in a pipe.
This resulted in the release of 87 cubic metres of sulphuric acid being released into the atmosphere. The valve that was designed to control leaks in the event of cracks did not operate as intended, leading to the uncontrolled release, increasing the risks to operators and delivery drivers, HSE explained.
Sulphuric acid is highly corrosive and can cause lung damage if high levels are breathed in.
A joint investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and Environment Agency (EA) into the release of the hydrochloric acid in January 2020 found that pipework had not been installed, maintained and inspected sufficiently, which led to several smaller pipe failures before the more serious loss of containment.
The investigation found that pipework had not been properly maintained, and a protective chemical-resistant coating had not been applied to the full height of containment walls.
An investigation by HSE into the release of sulphuric acid in August 2020 identified a lack of inspection and maintenance of the pipework and valves.
The leak continued for a further two days due to the inability to operate a manual valve to stop the process. The loss of containment was eventually stopped on 31 August 2020. Fortunately, no one was harmed.
Incidents ‘entirely avoidable’
In a hearing at Westminster Combined Court, the company was fined £2.4 million in relation to charges under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and a further £100,000 in relation to charges under the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2016.
HSE principal inspector Maria Strangward said that the uncontrolled release of significant quantities of hazardous substances in these cases was “entirely avoidable”.
“An appropriate planned maintenance programme should have been in place to ensure that pipes do not fail, and valves operate. The proactive maintenance of pipework and safety-critical valves is extremely important at sites such as these.
“Industrial Chemicals Limited’s West Thurrock site is classified as an upper tier site under the Control of Major Accident Regulations 2015 so that businesses and communities are protected, and potential major accidents avoided.”
Adrian Sherman, Environment Agency regulatory officer, added: “The Environment Agency takes its regulatory responsibilities seriously to protect communities and the environment.
“We expect businesses to comply with their environmental permits and will take appropriate enforcement action when they fail to do so. In this case, an appropriate inspection and maintenance programme could have prevented an environmental and public health risk.”
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