Two Pest Controllers Suffocate in Chicken Factory Gas Tragedy
Two pest control workers suffocated after unknowingly walking into a deadly cloud of nitrogen gas at a chicken processing factory in Norfolk, with two companies subsequently fined a total of £2.5 million over what prosecutors described as "cavalier" safety failures.
Fatal Incident at Banham Poultry
Norwich Crown Court heard that Neil Moon, 49, and Jonathan "Jon" Collins, 34, died from asphyxiation after nitrogen gas built up in a narrow walkway at the side of the Banham Poultry factory. The tragedy occurred in October 2018 when the men entered the one-man-wide passage as part of routine pest control work, with no warning they were stepping into a lethal environment.
The court was told the men were last seen alive on CCTV at around 11:40am inside one of the buildings. Their bodies were discovered in the early hours of the following day after concerned relatives raised the alarm when they failed to return home.
Companies Plead Guilty to Safety Offences
Banham Poultry Limited and Air Products Plc, which oversaw work to install pipe ducts at the factory, both pleaded guilty to health and safety offences. Mrs Justice Judith Farbey fined Air Products a total of £2,475,000 after finding a "serious failure" over repair work not being inspected and monitored. The company was also ordered to pay over £83,000 in court costs.
Banham Poultry, which went into administration the day after the deaths owing 533 creditors more than £6 million, was fined a "nominal sum" of just £900. The judge said the fine would have been "substantially" higher had the company not ceased to exist, adding this would be "no comfort to the families of the victims of Banham's serious offending."
System Modifications Created Deadly Hazard
The tragedy centred on the introduction of a SafeChill system at the Banham Poultry factory in May 2017. The system, designed and owned by Air Products PLC, was installed to deliver extreme low temperatures to bird carcasses to reduce bacteria levels.
As part of the process, waste nitrogen gas was pumped out through internal ducting and via a fixed T-bar roof chimney, intended to disperse into the atmosphere. However, concerns were soon raised about this process with reports of vented nitrogen gas forming dense clouds at the neighbouring railway station platform and track.
In response, the court heard how several temporary modifications, not managed competently or safely, were made using flexible ducting fitted to the chimney to divert the nitrogen gas to a different location. Over a 13-month period, three separate modifications were carried out.
Failed Modifications Led to Direct Gas Release
The first modification in September 2017 involved attaching a single flexible duct to the roof, followed by repairs using tape and cable ties. A second modification in January 2018 involved attaching two flexible ducts fixed using cylinder couplings and welded brackets, but the ducting quickly became disconnected and damaged.
A third modification in April 2018 used additional cylinder couplings without welded brackets, resulting in some ducting not being secured to the roof. On 3 October 2018, when Mr Collins and Mr Moon arrived separately at the Station Road site to carry out pest control work, the temporary ducting had slipped down the sloping factory roof into the narrow passageway where it was releasing concentrated nitrogen directly into the confined space.
Having displaced the oxygen, both men were killed, likely in seconds, by a gas they had no warning about and could not see or smell. The court heard that risks were not properly considered, with no checks or monitoring being carried out in relation to how the gas was supposed to be controlled safely.
Families Speak of Devastating Loss
Father-of-three Neil Moon had married his partner of nearly 15 years just ten months before he died. The couple were expecting a baby, and their son was born six months after his death, named Neil after his "amazing daddy." His wife Gillian described her husband as a calm, easy-going person who had a way of lifting the mood of everyone around him.
Mr Collins, a father of three children aged one, four, and six at the time, was described by his fiancé Sara as "a friend to all and an enemy to none." She described the huge life-changing impact of Jon's death on the whole family, adding: "The events of that day and how this case has unfolded will live with my family forever."
Police Investigation and Family Statement
Det Supt Stuart Chapman, the Senior Investigating Officer, said: "Jonathan and Neil went to work that day and should have returned home. They had every right to expect that these companies would meet the standards required to keep them and others safe. Instead, both companies breached that duty of care, which was a significant cause of both Jonathan and Neil's deaths."
In a joint statement, the families said: "Today, our two families stand united in grief as we remember Jonathan Collins and Neil Moon — two young men who simply went to work and never came home. Following today's sentencing, we must say honestly that we do not feel justice has been served. For us, true justice would be Jonathan and Neil still being alive."
The families added: "If anything positive can come from this tragedy, we ask one thing: If you are responsible for staff or contractors, take that responsibility seriously. You have a duty of care. No family should ever have to endure what we have faced because of failures to act by Banham Poultry and Air Products."
