Water Service Company Blamed in Ireland Death

The Northern Ireland Water Service has been named responsible for the death of a contractor killed in an explosion in a treatment plant last year.

Drew Stevenson, a 51-year-old father of six was killed in the explosion during construction at the Carnmoney Water Treatment Works in Elenington in June 2006. Another worker was seriously injured in the blast.

A Crown Censure hearing took place following an investigation by the Health and Safety Executive. Crown Censure is an administrative procedure the HSE follows in circumstances where a case cannot be taken to a court of law because of the immunity from prosecution enjoyed by bodies such as the Water Service.

According to Ireland On-Line, the Water Service accepted responsibility and presented measures put in place to prevent the incident from happening again.

The HSE investigation found that Northern Ireland Water Service failed to take adequate steps to prevent the risk of an explosion occurring during the construction work that was taking place at the plant near to a source of hydrogen gas. As a result of this failure, hydrogen gas was ignited, causing a violent explosion in which one contractor was killed and another seriously injured.

Source: Ireland On-Line