Chemical fire factory
will not reopen
April 16, 2002
Smoke from the blaze was seen more than 20 miles away
The owners of a North Shields chemical plant that caught fire and forced 500 people to leave their homes will not reopen the factory.
Distillex is to clear the site in Tyneside when it gets clearance from health and safety inspectors.
The company has admitted its operation is ‘inappropriate’ because it is too close to a large residential area in North Shields.
Distillex operations director Chris Nicholls told BBC Radio Newcastle its solvents recycling operation would not continue.
He said: ‘When we are given permission by the HSE we will endeavour to clear the site as promptly as we can and as safely as we can.’
‘Seeing the aftermath of this incident it would seem it is an inappropriate location for such an operation.’
Medical advice
The Health and Safety Executive is leading an inquiry into the fire.
At its height a half-mile exclusion zone was established forcing people to leave their homes because of fears for their health.
Fumes and smoke from the fire spread across the region and it took 25 crews five hours to bring the incident under control.
People living near the factory were given medical advice over the weekend.
The Distillex factory employs 12 people and is thought to contain between 40 and 50 different types of chemicals.
The Lancashire-based firm recycles solvents used in industry.
The plant was at the centre of a similar alert in January when a cloud of toxic vaporised methylene chloride was released after chemicals overheated.
April 13, 2002
Police cordons surround the site
Engineers have been called in because of fears that buildings close to a North Shields chemical fire could collapse.
The fire at the Distillex works last night sent fumes and smoke across the region.
At the height of the fire a half-mile exclusion zone was established forcing 500 people to leave their homes because of fears for their health.
It is believed the heat has damaged nearby industrial buildings.
Structural engineers will be examining other premises.
As investigations continue, medical advice is being offered to people living near the Distillex factory in North Shields and thermal imaging cameras are being used to find any remaining ‘hot spots’ amongst the debris.
It took 25 fire crews five hours to bring the fire under control and firefighters have spent the night at the site damping down. Traffic chaos
It is believed a spark ignited flammable material in a skip and the fire then ran out of control.
As the fire took hold, thick billowing smoke could be seen more than 20 miles away.
Northumbria Police Deputy Chief Constable Michael Craik said it was declared a major incident from the outset.
All aircraft were diverted away from the area, Metro trains stopped running between Tynemouth and North Shields, and the Tyne Tunnel road link under the river was closed.
More than 150 police officers were deployed to counter the traffic chaos and patrol the exclusion zones where hundreds of houses were empty.
April 12, 2002 Five hundred people fled their homes after explosions and a fire at a Tyneside factory sent smoke and fumes across the area this afternoon.
Most are going home, but 100 will spend the night in a leisure centre as firefighters try to bring the fire under control.
A half-mile exclusion zone round the Distillex factory on Percy Street East, North Shields, is being reduced to a quarter of a mile.
The fire service says it has contained the fire, but it is still not under control.
The solvent recycling plant was at the centre of a similar alert in January when a cloud of toxic vapour was released after chemicals overheated.
In the latest incident witnesses reported a number of muffled explosions and thick clouds of smoke hanging over the area.
There were concerns about toxic fumes, but there have been no reports of injuries.
It is not yet known how the fire started. No casualties
The fire stopped Metro trains running between Tynemouth and North Shields, and the Tyne Tunnel road link under the river was closed.
A spokeswoman for North East Ambulance Service said: ‘There are 40 to 50 different chemicals involved which are highly toxic.
‘At the moment we believe there are no casualties.’
Distillex managing director Adrian Jones told BBC News Online the fire started in a skip and spread to a compound where drums of flammable solvents are stored.
‘I believe that as they were making a transfer to the skip a spark was created as a natural result of metal contact.
‘That caused the ignition of a material that was in the skip. That could be a rag with oil or solvent on it.
‘The operator tried to dampen it with a fire extinguisher but was unable to and as a result the fire spread.
‘No staff have been injured and we have not heard of any other injuries. I have no idea of the damage,’ he said.
Bruce Walker, who works a mile away from the scene, told BBC News Online: ‘At its height, the flames were about three times higher than the building and the smoke is about 300 metres high. Exclusion zone
‘The smoke is stretching all the way down the Tyne.’ Officials from the Environment Agency are at the scene A spokeswoman said solvents such as xylene could cause short-term symptoms such as skin, eye, nose and throat irritations, headaches and dizziness after exposure to large doses.
Distillex takes waste chemicals from industry and separates re-usable products from waste and supplies them back to the industry as raw materials.
Police advised people living within the exclusion zone to leave their properties and go to the nearest public building such as the library or the Beacon shopping centre in North Shields.
Rory Fleming, manager of the nearby Beacon shopping centre, said: ‘We have procedures in place if people come to the centre because they have had to leave their homes.
‘Everybody is very calm - everyone knows about the fire but there is no panic.’
Those who cannot return to their homes this evening are being offered space to stay overnight at a leisure centre.
February 21, 2002 Investigators are awaiting test results before deciding if any action will be taken against a firm following a chemical leak on North Tyneside.
The leak of hazardous fumes from a cylinder which overheated at the Distillex Solvent plant in East Percy Street, North Shields, sparked a major emergency response.
Some homes near the plant were evacuated by police and hundreds of people were warned to stay indoors.
Officers put up roadblocks in the town centre and others patrolled nearby streets.
They used loud hailers to warn people not to venture outside.
No-one was hurt during the leak on January 30.
Police have ruled out any action against the company but a joint investigation by the Health and Safety Executive and the Environment Agency is continuing.
An HSE spokesman said yesterday: ‘We put a prohibition notice on the vessel, which is being tested, and the company has not been able to use that process since. We are now awaiting the result of chemical analysis on the contents of the vessel.’ He said it was impossible to estimate how long the inquiry would take.
Nor was it possible for him to say whether any prosecution would follow.
January 31, 2002 Police have given the all-clear after chemicals overheated at a solvent recycling plant on North Tyneside, releasing a cloud of toxic vapour.
The alarm was raised at the Distillex plant in East Percy Street, North Shields, yesterday morning. People liveing nearby were advised to close windows and stay indoors for two-and-a-half hours while the incident was dealt with by emergency services.
Six pumps from Tyne and Wear fire brigade were sent to the scene and Metro services between Tynemouth and North Shields were suspended.
A spokesman for the Distillex plant confirmed there had been a release of vapour from a tank containing 200 litres of chemicals. The type of chemical involved has not been revealed. No-one was injured in the incident.
Police closed Tynemouth Road and several other roads in the area. The cordon was lifted after the all-clear was given at 9am.
Each year Distillex, which has sites in North Tyneside and Leyland, Lancashire, recycles 10,000 tonnes of waste solvent as well as 1,000 tonnes of other chemical wastes from manufacturing industry and laboratories.
It also holds stocks of solvent for dispatch to customers at its two sites.
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Read more:
13-04-02
Buildings danger after chemical fire
12-04-02
Chemical plant up in flames
21-02-02
Chemical leak tests awaited
31-01-02
Tyneside chemical alert
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