Payout for burned steelworker

The blast left Michael White with difficulty walking

A Corus steelworker whose life was ruined by a factory explosion has been handed a reported £900,000 by the company.

Michael White, 56, from Caerphilly near Cardiff, suffered 62% burns in the large blast at the Llanwern works near Newport in 1999.

Twelve workers were injured in the incident, when a propane gas canister in liquid steel exploded, sending a fireball of molten metal across the factory floor and into the group.

We regret the injury - our first priority is to ensure the health and safety of all workers

Corus statement

Initially, the company denied liability, but Corus has now awarded a sum in an out-of-court settlement and given an apology.

In 1999 Corus was fined £175,000 at Cardiff Crown Court for breaching the Health and Safety at Work Act - a figure the worker labelled "disgusting."

Factory fireball

The canister had been loaded in a steel converter containing molten metal, but heat triggered a blast which shot flames 125ft across the works area.

It hit and injured Mr White and a group of contractors on the factory floor.

Llanwern was earmarked for 1,300 job cuts

He was left unable to use his arms or to bend over, and he has difficulty walking.

The ex-worker said he receives medical treatment and is unable to work ever again.

Exact figures for the payout are confidential, but reports peg the sum at more than £900,000.

Mr White said the money will pay for treatment in New York.

A Corus spokesman said: "We regret the injury to Mr White and his colleagues and have apologised.

"Our first priority is to ensure the health and safety of all those who work within our operations."

Mr White said: "Twelve of us were injured - burned to bits - and our lives ruined forever. Now they've paid, I'm over the moon."

The same Llanwern plant was earmarked for 1,300 job cuts by Corus' big redundancy announcement in February 2001.