Firm fined over Cork explosion

A phamaceutical company has been fined €300,000 following a chemical explosion at its Co Cork plant that killed one of its employees and seriously injured another.

Corden Pharma Ltd, trading as Corden Pharmachem Ltd, received €15 million in an insurance payout following the explosion, which happened at its 20-acre plant at Little Island on April 28th, 2008.

The company, which is no longer operating at the site, pleaded guilty to four separate charges under the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005.

Corden Pharma had been initially been charged with 16 offences relating to breaches of the act.

In addition to handing down the €300,000 fine, Judge Patrick Moran at Cork Circuit Criminal Court also awarded costs of €72,193 to the State.

Father-of-one Liam Nodwell (58) from Glanmire on the outskirts of Cork city was fatally injured and workmate Jimmy O’Sullivan was seriously injured in the chemical explosion that happened in a process reactor.

The court heard last week that Corden Pharma received €15 million in compensation following the explosion. It had used €7.5 million to pay redundancies to 92 staff, €4 million to decommission the plant, while it had invested €3.5 million in research.

The company had previously been fined €2,000 for a breach of health and safety rules on March 2nd, 2008, over its storage of waste materials and €5,000 for another breach on March 7th, 2008, relating to a similar process to that which led to the fatal explosion, he said.

"This was a very serious incident leading to the tragic death of one worker and serious injury to another," said Sharon McGuinness, assistant chief executive of the Health and Safety Authority.

"Whether manufacturing chemicals or using chemicals in the production of other products, it is critical that a comprehensive risk assessment is undertaken and appropriate safety precautions put in place,” she added.