Tragic Nitrogen Gas Leak Claims Lives of Two Pest Control Workers at Chicken Factory
A coroner's court review in 2024 has been told that two pest control workers died following an odourless gas leak at a chicken factory in Norfolk. The frozen bodies of Neil Moon, aged 49, and Jonathan Collins, aged 34, were discovered in a narrow passageway at Banham Poultry on October 4, 2018.
Fatal Gas Build-Up in Confined Space
Both men suffocated due to a dangerous accumulation of nitrogen gas caused by a leak as they worked to eradicate rodents from the factory premises. The court heard that Mr. Moon and Mr. Collins were found with frozen hands and faces hours after their families raised concerns about their failure to return home from work.
At Norfolk Crown Court, it was revealed that the lethal leak resulted from a poorly installed duct intended to carry the gas to a chimney on the factory roof. This duct had become detached and fallen into the passageway where the two workers were carrying out their duties.
Companies Plead Guilty to Health and Safety Offences
Banham Poultry and Air Products Limited have both pleaded guilty to health and safety offences related to the incident, acknowledging that their breaches were causative of the deaths. Craig Hassall KC, prosecuting, explained that nitrogen gas used to chill slaughtered chickens had pooled in the passage after being expelled from a safe chill system designed, installed, and maintained by Air Products.
He stated: 'When these men entered the passageway, ducting had become detached, pumping concentrated nitrogen into a narrow space. Ultimately, they were killed by a colourless, odourless gas. When they walked into the passageway they were given no warning of the risks.'
Timeline of Events and Safety Failures
The court was informed that the two workers, employed by pest control contractors Ecolab, arrived at the factory at 8.30am and were last known to be alive at 11.40am, as captured on CCTV. When neither man returned home that evening, their worried families raised concerns, prompting a search of the site. Their bodies were discovered at 1am in a one-man width passageway running between the factory and the tracks at Attleborough railway station.
Mr Hassall detailed that the safe chill system had been installed at the factory in May 2017. However, concerns were subsequently raised about clouds of mist drifting across the railway station tracks and platforms. To address this issue, three modifications were made in September 2017, January 2018, and April 2018, including adding extra exhaust ducts to allow waste gas to be expelled from the roof chimney.
'The prosecution case is that additions and communications about these changes were not properly done and the ducting added to the chimney was not properly robust,' Mr Hassall said. He described the actions of the two companies as 'cavalier' and accused them of failing to keep employees and others working on site safe.
Lax Safety Systems and Company Liquidation
The prosecutor highlighted that safety systems at the factory were lax, with no record of Mr Moon being on site or Mr Collins, who had signed in, having left. Banham Poultry Limited, which had employed 900 people, entered administration in 2018 and is currently in liquidation. Mr Hassall noted that financial problems had delayed plans to relocate the safe chill system on the factory site.
Emotional Tributes from Grieving Families
At the packed sentencing hearing, which is due to last two days, the emotional families of the two men paid heartfelt tributes. Mr Moon's wife Gillian, who was pregnant at the time, described her husband as a 'calm and easy-going person' who would 'do anything for anyone.'
'My life stopped but I had to find the strength to carry on for our son,' she added. 'I still don't know why it has taken these companies seven-and-a-half years to accept responsibility for causing these deaths. The careless and reckless actions of those responsible have had catastrophic consequences.'
Mr. Moon's daughter Dakota called him an 'amazing father,' saying: 'My dad was a kind and caring man just doing his job. They were robbed of their lives.'
Mr Collins' fiancée Sara Dutton said he was a 'strong and devoted family man' who doted on his children, aged one, four, and six at the time of his death. She revealed he had been excited to start a new job with future plans for a new home and to get married.
'My life and the lives of my children changed forever,' Ms. Dutton said. 'Our grief has not diminished over time. I have had seven years just treading water. Not really living, just waiting for the truth.'
The hearing continues as the court processes the full details of this tragic workplace incident.
