Expert Calls On Authorities To Work Quickly Following Incident

By Rob Dixon

Lawyers specialising in helping victims of incidents involving hazardous chemicals have urged authorities to work quickly to provide answers over an acid spill in Daventry, which hospitalised two police officers.

The spill of hydrochloric acid happened at High March industrial estate on Hackwood Road, with four workers being trapped in a building as a result of an acid cloud which formed as a result of the problems.

Two police officers exposed to the cloud were taken to hospital following the incident, while local people were also asked to keep doors and windows closed.

The incident follows a major chemical spill in Launceston, Cornwall, which saw 40 firefighters work to bring the substance under control.

David Urpeth, a Partner at Irwin Mitchell, specialises in helping those exposed to hazardous chemicals and substances at work to get justice over the health problems they have suffered.

His work has included acting for 75 workers and residents injured in the 2001 blast at Killingholme refinery, one of the biggest chemical incidents ever to occur in the UK. The plant’s owner, Conoco-Phillips, was fined £1 million in relation to safety failings regarding the incident.

Commenting on the Daventry incident, he said: "The handling and management of harmful chemicals at work can be fraught with risks and we know from experience that exposure to such substances can have a major impact on workers and the public.

"Stringent guidelines are in place over the handling of dangerous substances and it will be important that authorities work carefully and thoroughly to determine what caused this incident and how it should have been avoided.

"Health and safety must always be a priority and we hope lessons can be learned from this."

Read more about Irwin Mitchell's expertise in relation to Accident at Work claims