Highest standards of safety at Victrex

As Victrex’s Safety, Health and Environment Manager, I would like to provide reassurance to your readers that the risk to the public from our site in Greasbrough cannot be compared to those from Flixborough for a number of reasons.

Since that tragic event all those years ago, many important lessons have been learned from it and other developments around the globe, and the chemical industry has been transformed with regard to safety measures and legislation. Victrex works proactively alongside a number of regulatory bodies including the Health & Safety Executive and Environment Agency and welcomes the regular official checks and procedures which are put in place to make absolutely sure we achieve the highest safety standards.

As well as the wider industry improvements that have occurred since 1974, it is also important to note that the Greasbrough works does not carry out the same activities as the Flixborough works did back then; it does carry out chemical manufacture but at much lower pressures and with much lower volumes than at Flixborough, and in accordance with current regulation.

I think it also important to note that the Victrex plant continues to bring jobs and investment to the local area, with a workforce of 77 staff which has close to doubled since 2005. In the past seven years alone we have invested over £24 million in the Greasbrough site to both increase capacity and improve our technology.

Residents should understand that Victrex remains committed to maintaining the highest safety standards at its Greasbrough works, working closely with the regulatory bodies and will continue to invest to keep up with industrial and technological progress and thus ensure it retains this position. 

Simon Evans, Victrex