A property firm has been fined £80,000 after an asbestos surveyor died following an electrical explosion.

Inverness-based Global Energy Nigg Limited pleaded guilty to a health and safety breach before Tain Sheriff Court on Wednesday.

The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) said Christopher Wayne Earley’s death was “entirely avoidable”.

Mr Earley, the director of CWE Asbestos Consultants Ltd, was injured on 10 December 2020 while carrying out a survey of a large disused fabrication workshop on behalf of Global Energy Nigg Limited at Nigg Energy Park, also known as The Port of Nigg, in the Cromarty Firth.

The 64-year-old entered an electrical switch room which appeared to be out of operation as part of his inspection, the COPFS said.

He opened an electrical cabinet, which set off a flash caused by an electrical flashover – a high-current electrical discharge through an air gap between conductors.

As a result, Mr Earley suffered significant burns and later died in hospital on 10 March 2021.

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive found Global Energy Nigg Limited had failed to maintain the switch room in an appropriate condition.

Investigators found there was no internal door and no visual warning of electrical danger at the doorway.

Live switch panels did not carry any suitable warning signs or labelling, and redundant panels were also not marked.

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Safety failings ‘foreseeable and entirely avoidable’

Debbie Carroll, who leads on health and safety investigations for COPFS, said: “Christopher Wayne Earley lost his life in circumstances which were foreseeable and entirely avoidable.

“By failing to maintain the switch room in an appropriate condition Global Energy Nigg Limited put someone not employed by them at unacceptable risk.

“This prosecution should remind duty holders that failing to take reasonable health and safety measures can have fatal consequences and they will be held accountable for this failure.”

In a statement, Global Energy Nigg Limited said: “Global Energy Group express its sincere condolences to the individual’s family and friends following this tragic accident.

“The health and safety of everyone that works in and around the facility continues to be our top priority.”

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