Seventeen people suffered minor injuries following a chemical spill caused by the failure of a lorry driver to secure his load, a court heard yesterday.
Mr Hugh Cairney was fined €650 after he pleaded guilty to failing to take all practical steps to prevent risk of injury to persons at Church Road, Mulhuddart, Dublin, contrary to the Carriage of Dangerous Goods by Road Act, 1998.
Dublin District Court heard 12 barrels containing nitric and hydrochloric acid fell off his truck as he was negotiating a roundabout during morning rush hour on June 6th, 2003.
Four barrels broke open causing poisonous fumes to get into the atmosphere, aided by a strong wind.
Sgt Michael Kennedy told the court that 17 people who inhaled the fumes were taken to hospital and treated for minor breathing problems.
A major emergency plan was put into place and the entire area was sealed off for most of the day.
Mr Cairney (38), of Harold's Cross Cottages, Dublin, made a statement in which he said he had not checked the load before he left the company he worked for, Chemco, in the Robin Hood Industrial Estate, Dublin.
He had made one delivery to another chemical company in Ballycoolin Industrial Estate and was on his way to a second in Damastown when the accident occurred. The sergeant found three straps used to secure a load inside the cab.
Mr Cairney's solicitor told the court the lorry had been loaded the previous night and the first he knew they were falling off was when a member of the public called to him as he was going around the roundabout.
Mr Cairney called the emergency services and gestured at people to stay away.