07/09/2010 - Firm fined over blast at factory
An industrial bakeware manufacturer has been fined £10,000 after a worker suffered 60% burns in a explosion at its factory.
The 33-year-old welder, of Ilkeston, was cutting metal when a park ignited gases from a nearby can of thinner on December 16, 2008, Nottingham Magistrates' Court heard. The can exploded and showered him with hot liquid.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) brought the prosecution against Fluorocarbon Bakeware Systems after finding there was no provision for storage of thinners in the area, and that no risk assessment had been carried out. It added that flammable liquids had been stored correctly in other areas of the site.
HSE inspector Sian Tiernan said: "This incident was entirely preventable had simple precautions been taken. This must have been a terrifying incident for the worker, and it was only by chance that his colleague had left the work area a few moments earlier otherwise he too could have been injured."
Fluorocarbon Bakeware Systems, of Caxton Hill, Hertford, was fined £10,000 and told to pay £5,227 in costs after admitting breaking regulations 5(1) and 6(1) of the Dangerous Substances and Explosive Atmospheres Regulations 2002
Copyright © Press Association 2010
Related links
|
