25/11/2010 - £20,000 fine for fireball accident
A Cumbrian manufacturer has been fined £20,000 after a welder suffered serious burns when he was engulfed by a fireball.
David Lightfood, 58, from Cockermouth, was carrying out welding work on a large container the Indorama Polymers Ltd's site in Siddick when flames surrounded him. He was welding a metal component around a 2.5in diameter hole that had previously been sealed by a temporary bung.
Workington Magistrates' Court head that inside the container he was working on was 380 tonnes of terephthalic acid - an explosive powder.
After around 20 seconds working on the hole, Mr Lightfoot was forced to his hands and knees by flames. He and another worker had to jump 10ft to the ground to avoid the fire, but Mr Lightfoot endured serious burns to his arms, hands, head and face.
Following Indorama Polymers' £20,000 fine, other employers in the manufacturing sector could be pushed to recheck their liability insurance and increase safety provisions at their sites.
Workington-based Indorama Polymers was also ordered to legal costs of £14,941 after it pleaded guilty to breaching health and safety at work regulations and putting people not in their employment at risk.
Copyright © Press Association 2010
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