ESG Enforcement Tracker

Key facts:

On 2 April 2026, two companies were fined over £2.5m following deaths of pest controllers at a chicken factory in Norfolk in October 2018.

In May 2017, Banham Poultry Limited introduced a new SafeChill system in their chicken factory, designed and owned by Air Products PLC. The system emitted nitrogen gas, which was initially pumped out of the factory via the chimney. Following the initial installation, there were some local reports that the nitrogen gas, rather than dispersing into the atmosphere, was forming dense clouds at a nearby railway station. After the initial installation, there were several temporary modifications made to the SafeChill system over a 13-mont period, all relating to the ducting for the nitrogen gas emissions.

On 3 October 2018, two individuals arrived at the Banham Poultry factory to carry out pest control work. Temporary ducting installed in the factory to disperse the nitrogen gas had fallen from the roof, resulting in a concentration of nitrogen replacing the oxygen in the atmosphere directly in the confined space the individuals entered. Only after reports that the men did not return home were they located dead within a narrow passageway within the factory. Post-mortem examinations determined that the individuals died from asphyxiation form the nitrogen gas build up.

Banham Poultry and Air Products PLC were charged with failing to discharge a duty under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974. The court heard that both companies failed to properly assess risks, or take proper steps to ensure the ventilation system was safe, and described the deaths as “entirely avoidable”. Beyond the failure to properly identify the oxygen depleted atmosphere within the factory, the court also noted that Banham Poultry had failed to effectively track the contractors on site and did not identify that the men had not signed out at the end of the day following their work.

Banham Poultry was fined only £900, whilst Air Products PLC was fined £2,475,000 and ordered to pay over £83,000 in court costs. It was noted that had Banham Poultry not been in liquidation, a more substantial fine would have been imposed.

The prosecution offered no evidence on four corporate manslaughter charges against the companies.