Council fined over carbon monoxide leak at school

Carbon monoxide was found leaking from a backup boiler at the school

A Scottish local authority has been fined £14,331 following a carbon monoxide leak at one of its primary schools.

East Dunbartonshire Council admitted breaching health and safety conditions between December 2017 to February 2020.

Balmuildy Primary School in Bishopbriggs was evacuated after potentially "fatal" levels of carbon monoxide were found leaking from a backup boiler.

At Glasgow Sheriff Court, Sheriff Jonathan Guy said he would have imposed a greater sentence if his powers had allowed him to.

He told the court that based on English guidelines, there was a sentencing range between £100,000 to £250,000.

He said: "Society would be appalled by the council's failure of the wellbeing of teachers and children.

"In terms of harm caused to children and teachers, there was significant risk to health and safety with children becoming unwell and one fainted."

Glasgow Sheriff Court heard that teachers had opened windows in their classrooms to provide fresh air on 19 February 2020.

The health and safety team leader had attended the previous week and investigated a "strange smell".

A test on the boiler could not be conducted at the time due to a "lack of equipment".

Initial tests with gas sniffer equipment in the kitchen above the boiler house did not show any leaks.

However, a teacher brought in a domestic carbon monoxide detector which went off.

'Lack of maintenance'

Prosecutor Richard Brown told the court an investigation found one of the boilers to be leaking carbon monoxide in the school's plant room.

Mr Brown stated that this was "due to a lack of routine maintenance" and posed a "high risk" to everyone in the school when the boiler was in operation.

"This could have resulted in death, had the carbon monoxide built up to fatal levels at the school," he said.

The boilers at the school had been tested in 2018 - with an earlier service taking place in 2017.

Extensive repairs have since been carried out at various schools in the council area and it recently approved spending plans which would see a replacement to Balmuildy built.

Barry Smith, defending, told the court that the council had been using an older system to record maintenance which has now been replaced.

The advocate added: "I record the regret of all associated with the council.

"They are thankful that no lasting harm was caused to the public and staff at the primary school.

"The safety of staff and pupils is the number one priority."