THE North-East has one of the largest petro-chemical complexes in Europe, but has witnessed remarkably few major dramas.

The most notable recent incidents in the area include:

* October 25, 1986, one man killed and 13 injured, two critically, during two explosions and a fire at an ICI fertiliser plant at Billingham, Teesside.

* July 7, 1989, two workers killed and a firefighter badly burned when ammonia fumes leaked from the ICI Number Five plant, Billingham.

*l January 28, 1992, a vinyl chloride monomer leak from the Hydro Polymers plant at Newton Aycliffe, County Durham, prompts a full-scale alert. Experts say the leak could have caused an explosion.

*l July 5, 1993, an explosion at the chemical site at Seal Sands, Teesside, after a leak at Hexcel Chemicals. No one was injured.

*l July 29, 1994, 11 dockers received hospital treatment after breathing hydrogen cyanide from the BASF complex at Seal Sands, in the Tees estuary.

*l November 24, 1995, 250 workers evacuated from buildings at Tioxide Europe's Greatham works, near Hartlepool, when the lid of a 45-gallon container of titanium tetrachloride threatened to burst.

*l October 9, 1995, The North-East's biggest fire in 50 years ripped through the BASF plant at the Wilton chemical complex, on Teesside. The flames could be seen 150 miles away. An investigation concluded that an electrical problem caused the blaze, which lasted a day.

*l May 4, 1997, thousands of residents in Seaton Carew, near Hartlepool, were ordered to stay indoors after an escape of flammable naphtha at ICI's North Tees plant. A firefighter and an ICI worker were taken to hospital for treatment.

* July 11, 1999, fire crews were called to a blaze at the Union Carbide factory at ICI's Wilton site, on Teesside. Two firefighters sustained minor injuries.

*l April 4, 2000, a man was rushed to hospital suffering from burns after a fire at the T8 plant of DuPontSA, at Wilton, Teesside. A hydrogen leak was to blame.

*l January 7, 2002, four people taken to hospital suffering from breathing difficulties and bromine burns after a leak at Great Lakes Manufacturing, at Newton Aycliffe, County Durham.