Chemicals company Sabic facing hefty €25M fine for unsafe practices on Chemelot site

The Public Prosecution Service (OM) demanded a 25 million euro fine against Sabic Limburg for unsafe work practices between 2015 and 2019 at the Chemelot industrial park in Geleen, resulting in environmental harm and the serious injury of three employees, with one fatality. The case, presented in Den Bosch, also involves the supervisory body Chemelot Site Permit (CSP) and accuses both entities of not following internal safety protocols.

The Public Prosecution Service detailed several serious safety incidents at Sabic Limburg: a tank roof collapse in July 2015, leading to employee exposure to explosive naphtha fumes without protection and environmental odor nuisance; a dangerous isobutane leak in 2016, reported too late to authorities; in December 2016, two workers were injured, one fatally, due to direct contact with flames during furnace maintenance; and in 2019, an employee sustained severe burns from hot oil, causing substantial soil contamination due to a spill of 150 to 200 tons of oil.

“These are very serious facts in which safety, health and the environment have actually been seriously violated. And all this over a period of 4 years during which no improvement appears to have occurred, rather the opposite," the prosecutor said.

The OM portrayed an organization lacking in critical oversight, with disordered processes and installations, insufficient monitoring and investigation, inadequate supervision, and an inability to learn from past incidents. The OM said that the company is accused of deliberate negligence by not conducting crucial risk analyses, and failing to implement necessary measures in handling hazardous processes.

Considering the severity and repercussions of the safety violations and the financial capacity of the chemical company, the officer has demanded a fine of 25 million euros.

The court proceedings for the cases, including those against other companies on the Chemelot site, are scheduled for the next coming days.