Dutch prosecutors claimed on Tuesday that Royal Dutch Shell should pay a fine of 2.7 million euros ($3 million) since they allowed an explosion to occur at its Moerdijk facility in 2014. Shell also exceeded legal emissions limits for ethylene oxide due to a leak that went unnoticed from 2015 to 2016, reported Reuters.
Prosecutors argued, in the district court in Den Bosch, that Shell had not taken enough measures to avoid the series of explosions and fire that occurred at the chemical plant on June 3rd, 2014. Given that two workers were injured, the prosecutors stated in court that “Shell endangered employees and people in the surroundings.”
Shell responded saying it “deeply regretted” the incident and was working to prevent it from happening again. The court has not yet set a date for its verdict, according to Reuters.
