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Blast death cause remains a mystery
An explosives expert told an inquest that nobody will know what caused a blast which killed BAE employee Lynda Wilkins.
The jurors at Preston Coroner's Court heard from several expert witnesses who discussed likely theories but were told the only person that would know what happened was the victim.
Mrs Wilkins, 47, of Western Drive, Leyland, died in the explosion at the BAE Land Systems in Buckshaw Village, Chorley, last March.
She had been making lead styphnate when the blast happened.
During the second day of the inquest, the court was told BAE had "voluntarily discontinued" the process in which Mrs Wilkins was involved.
Stewart Myatt, the senior scientist who led the investigation, said a tiny static charge, much less than that needed to ignite the more commonly known TNT, could set the explosive off.
He gave various scenarios to demonstrate just how easily the explosive could ignite.
He said: "Friction, a static charge or an impact such as the dropping of the camel hair brush used for cleaning, would be enough to cause an explosion."
He said, in his opinion, it was the proximity of the brush to the lead styphnate which led to the blast.
Sally Haslewood, on behalf of Mrs Wilkins' daughter Emma, asked Mr Myatt, why, if the explosive was so sensitive, were people in such close contact with it? He said he did not feel he was able to answer the question.
Ian McKay, of the Health and Safety Executive, said that, from analysing the debris found in the room and during the post mortem examination, he was able to conclude it was a piece of plastic which lodged in Mrs Wilkins neck and killed her.
The jury was told that, during the sieving procedure, Mrs Wilkins would have been behind a protective wall.
However, when she walked from behind that, there was probably a small amount of explosive had not sieved through.
A spokesman for BAE Systems said: "We very much regret the tragic death of our colleague.
"The inquest has considered the facts and given its verdict.
"Clearly we need to study all the output of the inquest as part of our health and safety programme."
The jury returned a verdict of accidental death. Coroner Carolyn Singleton, said: "Our sincere condolences go out to the family on what can only be described as a tragic accident."
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Wednesday 08 February 2012
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