16/11/2010 - Cement firm fined over explosion
A cement firm has been prosecuted after one of its workers received burns in a blast when he was inspecting a fault with an energy meter.
Lafarge Cement UK Plc was fined £130,000 at Basildon Crown Court and ordered to pay costs of £29,742 after Paul Ridings, an electrical engineer who had been contracted to work for the company, was set alight. The explosion at the site in Grays, Essex, occurred in October 2008.
Mr Ridings, 39, of South Benfleet, disturbed a loose connection while examining the meter and exposed some wire, which led to the blast at the Thurrock Marine Terminal site. He spent 19 days in a specialist burns unit and has had numerous skin graft operations after suffering burns to his hands, arms, face, chest and neck.
Lafarge Cement UK Plc, of Granite Way, Syston, Leicester, admitted breaching sections 2(1) and 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 after the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) brought a prosecution. HSE said an investigation found the company had not ensured its electrical systems were maintained in such a way as to protect its staff.
Copyright © Press Association 2010
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