Mossmorran: Ethylene plant hit with six-figure fine after major flaring incident
The operator of Fife Ethylene Plant at Mossmorran has been fined £176,000 for failings which led to a major flaring incident at the site.
It occurred over five days in April 2019 and caused great concern in the surrounding communities.
Residents described the noise as being “like a jet engine” and “a giant blow torch” with the bright glow from the chimney easily seen from around Fife and Edinburgh.
US-based petro-chemical giant ExxonMobil employs more than 300 people at the plant, which has been in operation for 40 years. At Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court this week, it admitted that on April 21, 2019 at the Fife Ethylene Plant, Mossmorran, it failed to comply with a condition of its operating licence relating to smoke emissions.
It also admitted that on various occasions between April 7-26, it failed to comply with a condition of its operating permit by not following its processes sufficiently to minimise the risk of flaring. It also prioritised the prevention of smoke emissions which resulted in elevated noise from flaring between 21st and 26th of that month in breach of pollution prevention and control regulations.
Prosecutor Iain Batho said, “At 12.24 on April 21, 2019 one of the boilers tripped - stopped working - meaning there was no longer sufficient steam balance and so the whole plant had to be shut down.
“In that scenario, it was inevitable that it would take around five days to get the plant up and running again and in the meantime it was essential to continuously flare until the plant became operational.”
It was accepted by the Crown that the firm’s culpability was “negligible”.
“It had processes in place but they were not followed sufficiently and there was a lack understanding by senior managers of ‘steam balance’,” said Mr Batho.
Sheriff James Williamson recalled, “Considerable discomfort and anxiety was caused to the community within those five days.
He added, “It caused quite a stir and caused extreme anxiety in the communities around the complex.”
The court was told that there has been significant investment at the plant since the incident including the construction of an enclosed ground flare. There has been no repetition of the incident in the years since.
Sheriff Williamson said it had taken “an extraordinary length of time” to bring the case to court. He fined the company £176,000.
Ross Haggart, SEPA's chief operating officer for regulation, business and environment, said: “For nearly a week, communities around ExxonMobil Chemical Limited’s site were impacted by unacceptable and preventable flaring, causing noise and disruption on a scale that was simply intolerable.
“The scale of complaints, the highest number ever received by SEPA for a single environmental event, illustrates how many people were impacted by the noise, described as “like a jet-engine”, that disturbed sleep and caused fear and anxiety.
“Our investigation found that ExxonMobil had processes in place that could have prevented this incident, but they were not followed to a high enough standard. Today’s result holds the company to account for these failures, and the serious impacts communities experienced. While flaring is an important safety mechanism at facilities like this, it must be the exception rather than routine.
"Significant investment in new flaring infrastructure and operational improvements has been driven by SEPA’s programme of enforcement, and we will continue to keep a firm focus on compliance going forward.”