Norfolk Constabulary | The families of two men who died at a chicken factory nearly eight years ago have described how they suffer heartbreak beyond words and think of them and miss them every day.
Jonathan Collins, aged 34, from Watton and Neil Moon, aged 49, from Spalding were completely unaware of the dangers when they entered a passageway where the oxygen had been fatally depleted by concentrated nitrogen at Banham Poultry, in Attleborough.
Following an extensive investigation by the HSE and Norfolk Police’s Major Investigation Team, Banham Poultry Limited, which went into administration in October 2018, admitted two counts of failing to discharge a duty under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974.
Air Products PLC admitted one count of failing to discharge a duty under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974.
In doing so, they admitted that these breaches were causative of the deaths of Mr Moon and Mr Collins.
At the conclusion of a three-day sentencing hearing at Norwich Crown Court Banham Poultry Ltd, and Air Products PLC were fined £900 and £2,475,000 respectively.
Air Products were also ordered to pay over £83,000 in court courts.
The judge, Mrs Justice Farbey, said had Banham Poultry not been in liquidation she would have imposed a substantial fine.
Mr Moon, a father of three, married his partner of nearly 15 years just ten months before he died. The couple were expecting a baby and their son was born six months after his death. He was named Neil after his “amazing daddy.”
His wife Gillian described her husband as a calm, easy-going person who had a way of lifting the mood of everyone around him.
Mr Collins, a father of three children aged one, four, and six at the time was described by his fiancé Sara as “a friend to all and an enemy to none.”
She described the huge life-changing impact of Jon’s death on the whole family adding: “The events of that day and how this case has unfolded will live with my family forever.”
Dense clouds
The tragedy centred on the introduction of a SafeChill system at the Banham Poultry factory in May 2017.
The system was designed and owned by Air Products PLC and installed for use by Banham Poultry to deliver extreme low temperatures to the surface of bird carcasses to reduce levels of bacteria (campylobacter).
As part of the process, waste nitrogen gas was pumped out through internal ducting and via the fixed T-bar roof chimney, with the idea it would disperse into the atmosphere.
However, concerns were soon raised about this process with reports of the vented nitrogen gas forming dense clouds at the neighbouring railway station platform and track.
In response, the court heard how several temporary modifications, not managed competently or safely, were made using flexible ducting fitted to the chimney to divert the nitrogen gas to a different location.
Over a 13‑month period, three separate modifications were carried out.
The first modification, in September 2017, involved attaching a single flexible duct to the roof. Following this, a number of repairs were attempted, including use of tape and cable ties.
A second modification was implemented in January 2018. This involved attaching two flexible ducts to the roof vent which were fixed using cylinder couplings and welded brackets. However, the ducting quickly became disconnected and damaged.
As a result, a third modification was carried out in April 2018. This involved the use of additional cylinder couplings but without welded brackets resulting in some of the ducting not being secured to the roof.
No warning
On 3 October 2018 Mr Collins and Mr Moon arrived separately at the Station Road site to carry out pest control work using thermal imaging cameras. Only one of the men was signed in correctly during the morning, and there were no checks after failing to sign out.
On the day the two men entered the narrow passageway alongside the factory wall, the temporary ducting installed as part of the third modification had slipped down the sloping factory roof into the narrow passageway where, unknown and unchecked, it was releasing concentrated nitrogen directly into the confined space.
Having displaced the oxygen both men were killed, likely in seconds, by a gas they had no warning about and could not see or smell.
They were last seen alive on CCTV at around 11.40am inside one of the buildings. Their bodies were found at around 1am the following day after their families raised the alarm.
During the two-day hearing the court heard in relation to the risks presented and how the gas was supposed to be controlled safely risks were not properly considered with no checks or monitoring being carried out.
Detective Superintendent Stuart Chapman, the Senior Investigating Officer said: “Working together with the Health and Safety Executive and the Crown Prosecution Service, this has been a complex investigation involving these two companies with a vast number of enquiries and a range of specialist experts carrying out detailed enquiries to ensure a thorough investigation.
“Jonathan and Neil went to work that day and should have returned home. They had every right to expect that these companies would meet the standards required to keep them and others safe.
“Instead, both companies breached that duty of care. which was a significant cause of both Jonathan and Neil’s deaths and why they didn’t come home that night to their families – failures and breaches which were inexcusable and completely avoidable if these companies had taken responsibility.
“I want to express my sincere gratitude to the families for their unwavering support throughout this lengthy process.
“My thoughts remain with them all as they continue to cope with the devastating loss of their loved ones – a loss so clearly articulated in their heart-breaking Victim Impact Statements which were read to the court.”
