A FACTORY has been fined £10,000 for a chemical leak after which six people needed hospital treatment.

Great Lakes Manufacturing (UK) Ltd, in Newton Aycliffe, County Durham, admitted two charges of failing to ensure the safety of employees, relating to the transfer of bromine, a toxic and corrosive material.

Ten people complained of respiratory problems after the leak, which happened on Monday, January 7.

One worker, who attempted to stop the leak, incurred burns on his neck and shoulders as he was wearing ordinary overalls instead of a protective suit.

Magistrates at Bishop Auckland heard how a series of errors during a routine transfer of the chemical from block storage to an intermediate storage tank, known as an egg, caused 2.5 tons to overflow.

Bromine, used to make fire retardant building material, seeped into a vessel surrounding the egg, meant for containing fumes.

About 26 kilos of bromine escaped into the atmosphere, causing seven workers at neighbouring factory Talent Engineering to suffer breathing problems.

Health and safety inspector Linda Donachie said that a safety valve meant to stop the transfer when the egg was full, seized, causing the overflow.

The operator failed to notice an electronic display which indicated it was full and an alarm, which consisted of just two slow flashing lights, also failed to alert staff to the problem.

She said that when valves had jammed at other times during the cold weather workers used steam to release them. Rubber seals on the tank had been so badly maintained that many were as soft as chewing gum.

She said: "This is a critical item on the plant and should have been maintained in top condition.

"Unfortunately, a culture of complacency had developed at the plant and standards fell short of those expected in industry. Because of this the tank could not stand up to the chemical and failed very quickly."

Part of the plant closed for four weeks while the Health and Safety Executive carried out an investigation and recommended safeguards to prevent any more accidents.

Richard Bloomfield, representing the US-based company, said: "The firm understands the need for safety measures, which at the time were inadequate.

"It has taken the opportunity to amend this and has already spent £160,000 on safety measures and training with more in the future. Lessons have been learnt and shared with plants globally."

The firm was ordered to pay £5,000 for each offence and costs of £956.