Man suffered burns on third of his body after distillery ale pipe exploded

The liquid was at a temperature of 104C when it came out of the pipe unexpectedly.

Diageo fined £500,000 after ale pipe explosion at Elgin distillery caused worker horrific burns — HSE: The worker sustained burns to his body before spending two weeks in intensive care. The Health and Safety Executive

Posted in

Moray

A man suffered horrific burn on more than a third of his body after a pipe exploded at a distillery in Moray.

The mechanical engineer had been repairing a defective pump at Diageo’s Glenlossie Distillery Complex in Elgin on March 24, 2021, when he was burned by pot ale.

The liquid was at a temperature of 104C when it came out of the pipe unexpectedly.

The worker sustained burns to his arms, hands, shoulders, back, chest, lower legs and ankles before spending two weeks in intensive care, where he was placed in an induced coma.

A Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigation found Diageo failed to do all that was “reasonably practicable” to ensure maintenance operations could be carried out without putting workers at risk of injury.

Diageo Scotland Limited pleaded guilty to breaching the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and was fined £500,000 at Inverness Sheriff Court on December 16, 2024.

HSE inspector Isabelle Martin said the incident could’ve been “easily avoided” by ensuring that procedures were in place to ensure that changes to work equipment installed in the plant were safe.

“However, more importantly,, Diageo should have had procedures in place to ensure that the plant could be isolated safely and prevent the release of hazardous substances,” she added.

“Companies should be aware that HSE will not hesitate to take appropriate enforcement action against those that fall below the required standards.”