Total pleads guilty to Buncefield charges

London - Total UK pleaded guilty to the charges brought against it by the Heath and Safety Executive (HSE) and Environment Agency (EA) at the Central Criminal Court, London. The hearing was part of the HSE/EA Buncefield prosecution.

"As criminal proceedings continue against a number of other defendants, it would be inappropriate to comment further, other than to say that Total UK regrets the unfortunate events at Buncefield in December 2005 and would like to apologise to all those affected by the incident, said a 13 Nov Total statement.

The charges brought against Total were: Sections 2(1) and 33(1)(a) of the Health and Safety at Work Act etc 1974; Sections 3(1) and 33(1)(a) of the Health and Safety at Work Act etc 1974; Sections 6 and 85(1) of the Water Resources Act 1991