New Zealand’s government has charged 10 companies and three individuals in connection with the 2019 volcanic eruption on White Island that killed 22 people and injured dozens.
White Island, a privately owned island that brands itself as “New Zealand’s most active volcano,” erupted on Dec. 9, spewing ash, toxic gas, and rocks thousands of feet into the air. Rescuers spent roughly two weeks searching for victims. Forty-seven people were on the island at the time of the eruption.
WorkSafe New Zealand, the country’s workplace safety agency, said that while the explosion took everyone by surprise, the eruption was not entirely unforeseeable and proper precautions were not taken at the time of the incident.
“22 people have lost their lives in this tragic event,” said WorkSafe Chief Executive Phil Parkes. “WorkSafe is tasked with investigating workplace incidents to determine whether those with health and safety responsibilities met them. This was an unexpected event, but that does not mean it was unforeseeable and there is a duty on operators to protect those in their care.”
After the explosion, the U.S. Geological Survey released a report on the lessons the United States could learn from the White Island explosion to predict domestic geological activity. According to the USGS, “The volcano had been showing signs of unrest for several weeks before the December 9, 2019, explosion,” citing dramatic increases in the emission of sulfur dioxide and seismic activity leading up to the explosion.” Sulfur dioxide emissions were at their highest levels since 2016 — the last time the volcano erupted.
WorkSafe alleged that all 47 people who were on the island at the time of the eruption “suffered serious injuries and trauma.” “Those who went to the island, did so with the reasonable expectation that there were appropriate systems in place to ensure they made it home healthy and safe,” Parkes said. “We investigated whether those with any involvement in taking tourists to the island were meeting their obligations under the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015. We consider that these 13 parties did not meet those obligations.”
WorkSafe did not name any of the parties involved, as doing so is prevented by New Zealand law. WorkSafe will not release the results of its investigations into the incident “until the conclusion of the legal process.” Nine of the organizations have been charged with failing to ensure the health and safety of workers and others. Each charge carries a maximum fine of $1.5 million.
The three individuals charged are “directors or individuals with significant influence over a company” and were charged over a failure “to exercise due diligence that the company is meeting its health and safety obligations.” They face maximum fines of $300,000.
