Industry news
Buncefield blast firms fined £9m
Posted Fri, 16 Jul
Five companies responsible for the Buncefield oil depot explosion have been sentenced to pay a total of more than £9 million at St Albans Crown Court.
Total were fined £3,600,000 plus £2,600,000 costs, Hertfordshire Oil Storage Limited £1,450,000 plus £1,000,000 costs, British Pipeline Agency Ltd £300,000 plus £480,000 costs, and Motherwell Control Systems 2003 Ltd and TAV Engineering Ltd were both fined £1,000 and each ordered to pay £500 in costs.
Sentencing the firms, Judge Sir David Calvert-Smith said: "Had the explosion happened during a working day, the loss of life may have been measured in tens or even hundreds."
The explosion, on Sunday 11 December 2005, is widely thought to be the largest in peacetime Europe. It measured 2.4 on the Richter scale and could be heard 125 miles away.
Jurors heard earlier that the environmental damage from the blast was still not known and could last for decades.
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