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A HUGE explosion and fire at a chemical plant in Strathclyde, Scotland, is being viewed as suspicious, with police reporting three boys to the local Children’s Panel in connection with the incident.
Some 75 firefighters and 20 appliances from Strathclyde supported on-site emergency crews employed at the Nobel Enterprises plant near Irvine on 8 September. It is thought that two initial explosions ignited up to 1,700 tonnes of the highly flammable chemical nitrocellulose, used to make inks and coatings.
The blaze mainly involved chemicals stored in outdoor, bunded areas, so property damage was limited and no-one was hurt. However, there were fears at one stage that the fire could spread to other nearby industrial sites, including a plastics factory and another chemical site.
A 1km cordon was set up around the site as a precaution and local emergency plans were put in place to evacuate homes in the event of potentially toxic fumes spreading towards residential areas, though evacuations
did not prove necessary. The Scottish Environmental Protection Agency conducted an inspection of the site and said no significant air or water pollution had been identified.
Police said that the three boys, two aged 14 and one aged 10, had been referred to the local Children’s Panel, which deals with vulnerable and troubled children.
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