Pharma company ordered to pay €233,700 over chemical plant explosion

A pharmaceutical company has been ordered to pay €233,702.79 in damages after a court held it reponsible for a 2009 explosion at its Zejtun chemical plant that destroyed machinery belonging to Asfaltar Ltd.

Judge Mark Chetcuti, presiding the First Hall of the Civil Court ordered Crystal Pharma to pay Asfaltar Ltd €47,277.79 for damages it suffered and €186,475 to Asfaltar's insurers, Elmo Insurance.

The incident occurred on March 3rd 2009 at Crystal Pharma (operating as Solea Pharma at the time) in the Zejtun industrial estate. A contractor, appointed by the defendant to carry out works at the chemical plant, had been asked to manufacture a metal grate to cover a sump.

Chemical overflows and spillages would drain into the sump, which was connected to a larger reservoir located at the far end of the site.

When the time came for the contractors to install the metal grate on site, they noticed that no space had been left for an overflow pipe and so had to cut out a section of the grate, on site.

But while workers were using a chaser to cut the metal parts, sparks and embers from the powertool had ignited the chemicals collected in the sump. The fire had quickly spread to the reservoir through the underground pipes, causing the reservoir to explode.

Nearby equipment belonging to Asfaltar had been destroyed as a result of the explosion.

In its judgement on the matter, the court held that notwithstanding the fact that it had been an employee of contractor Rite Decor who had caused the explosion, responsibility for the incident was solely Crystal Pharma's. Although the plant had not yet started operating, the site, and with it the responsibility for safety, had already been handed over to Crystal Pharma at that stage.

The plant's owners had been aware that tests involving heptane – a highly flammable chemical that does not dissolve in water– were taking place. The court noted, however that no signs indicating the danger had been installed near the sump where the grate had been cut.

The court held that Crystal Pharma should have been more safety-conscious at the factory's pre-operation stage, with construction workers still carrying out various works on the site. The court said that, on the other hand, Rite Decor had been fined by the OHSA for failing to carry out a risk assessment, but did not feel this contravention led to responsibility for civil damages.