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Lord Gill’s ICL Inquiry Report Published

Lord Gill has published his inquiry report into the explosion at ICL Plastics in Glasgow in 2004. It states that all commercial buried metallic lpg pipework should be replaced as part of a joint systematic programme agreed between the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and UKLPG.

Yvette Cooper, Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, said: “Although the inquiry has made clear that primary responsibility for the safety of liquefied petroleum gas lies with and should remain with the site user, I take very seriously the criticisms made of the safety regime over several decades. I welcome and agree with Lord Gill’s recommendations that a systematic replacement of buried metallic lp gas pipework must be implemented and also that a sharper, clearer safety regime should be introduced.”

The HSE has already announced a joint programme of work with UKLPG for the systematic replacement of buried lpg metallic pipework. Ministers will report back to Parliament on progress in the autumn before publishing a full response to Lord Gill’s report early in the New Year.

Responding to Lord Gill’s account of what happened at ICL Plastics, HSE chief executive Geoffrey Podger repeated HSE’s apologies to the victims and their families that a specific intervention by HSE had not been brought to a successful conclusion.

He said: “HSE has already done a great deal since the accident at ICL Plastics, especially in preparing for a comprehensive programme by lpg suppliers for buried metal lp gas pipework to be replaced with newer and more robust plastic pipes. The UK lpg industry signed up to the replacement plan in June this year and work has already started, ramping up in October following preparatory data collection, risk assessments and a promotional campaign to alert duty holders to the need to take action.

“We have worked hard with the lpg suppliers and their trade association UKLPG to develop a plan to replace the pipes, using a risk-based approach to tackle the ones which pose the greatest risk first. Moreover, HSE have gone further than the remit of Lord Gill’s Inquiry as we are tackling the lpg supply to domestic households as well. This is largely outside HSE’s remit, but we believe that public safety will be best served if we also help householders identify and control risks caused by buried metal lpg gas pipes.”

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