Chemical company Sabic Limburg has been fined 10 million euros due to negligence that caused one employee to die and two to be seriously injured. The court of East Brabant has this decided on Tuesday. Chemelot Site Permit, the company behind the site of which Sabic is part, has been acquitted, as has chemical company Borealis.
Two incidents led to the multi-million fine. In the first, in December 2016, two employees were reportedly “doused with hydrocarbons”, after which their clothing caught fire. One of the two died a month later, the other suffered serious burns. In 2019, hot oil sprayed over an employee, who also suffered burns.
Although the fine is less high than the 25 million euros that the Public Prosecution Service had demanded, the judge strongly criticized Chemelot’s attitude, which “does not come across as proactive”. Authority was “kept at bay” and the company repeatedly responded “little or not at all” to comments about shortcomings that could pose a danger.
Sabic has announced that she will appeal, reports ANP news agency.