IN THE COURTS
THANET DISTRICT COUNCIL FINED £250,000 FOR NOT PROTECTING
WORKERS HEALTH Thanet District Council has been fined after a worker was left with permanent injuries after being diagnosed with hard arm vibration (HAV).
Canterbury Crown Court heard how a worker from Thanet District Council was diagnosed with suffering from HAV after visiting his GP, having not been under any health surveillance or told how he should report his symptoms by his employer.
Symptoms of the condition can include tingling, pins and needles, numbness and pain in the hands. This affects
CHEMICAL COMPANY FINED AFTER TOXIC VAPOUR CLOUD KILLS WORKER AND SERIOUSLY INJURES
ANOTHER A chemical company has been fined £3million after a worker was killed and one left with life changing injuries when they were overcome by a toxic vapour cloud.
Hull Crown Court heard that in the early hours of the 5th March 2010, at the Grimsby plant of Cristal Pigment UK Limited (formerly Millennium Inorganic Chemicals), there was a build-up of Titanium Tetrachloride within a vessel.
The chemical came into contact with water creating a violent reaction, which ruptured the vessel. The liquid came into contact with the air creating a large toxic vapour cloud.
Paul Doyley, 48, was showered with the corrosive liquid and blanketed by the rapidly expanding toxic vapour cloud.
He died on the 18th March 2010 from his injuries.
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sleep when it occurs at night and sufferers have difficulties in gripping and holding things, particularly small items such as screws, doing up buttons, writing and driving.
An investigation by HSE found that the worker would typically spend up to six hours a day using a range of powered equipment including mowers and hedge cutters, depending upon the season.
The council had not taken steps to eliminate or control the exposure of their workers to HAVs. They also failed to educate their workers on the risk and train them on how to control their exposure to the vibrations caused by the power tools.
At the time of the investigation the council were issued with an improvement notice, as soon as they started to rectify the problem and implement the appropriate health
Ron Ingoldby was also covered by the dense cloud, surviving his injuries but with irreversible lung damage.
The large, poisonous vapour cloud expanded to several metres in height and poured out from the site as a thick, dense white cloud.
The wind blew the cloud out across the river Humber and closed down the shipping lanes for several hours, until the incident was eventually brought under control by the Humberside Fire and Rescue Service.
HSE found the company had deviated from normal operating procedures, leading to the dangerous build-up of the chemical.
Parts of the plant and its procedures were poorly designed and the company had not established robust safety management procedures and systems of work to assess and control risk and to ensure that these were actually followed.
On the 27 July 2011, there was another uncontrolled release of a toxic vapour during the poorly organised cleaning of a redundant vessel.
HSE found that the company poorly managed the design and installation of fabricated plates to seal the vessel before carrying out the cleaning process. The plates were
surveillance a further 15 cases of ill- health relating to vibration exposure were identified and reported to HSE.
Thanet District Council pleaded guilty of breaching Regulations 6(2) and 7(1) of the Control of Vibration at Work Regulations 2005 and was fined a total of £250,000 and was ordered to pay £18,325.84 in costs.
HSE Principal Inspector Mike Walters, said: “Hand Arm Vibration is a serious disease that impacts on people’s lives and impairs their ability to work. It is entirely preventable but once the damage is done it is permanent. Any business, council or employers can learn from this case. If you have workers who use heavy machinery you need to ensure you properly manage the risks from HAVs, control or eliminate the exposure and train them so they can identify the symptoms.”
incompatible, incorrectly designed and used inappropriate sealants that could not contain the gas created during the procedure, releasing a toxic vapour cloud.
Cristal Pigment UK Ltd of Stallingborough pleaded guilty to the following charges: Sections 2(1) and 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, for the 2010 incident and also Regulation 4 of the Control of Major Accident Hazards Regulations 1999 for the 2011 incident. The company was fined £1.8mil and £600,000 for charges associated with the incident on 5 March 2010 and fined £600,000 for the charge associated with the incident on 27 July 2011 with costs of £37,868.00.
After the hearing, HSE inspector Brian Fotheringham commented: “The incident of 5 March 2010 caused the death of one employee and life changing injuries to another. Had the wind been blowing in the opposite direction it could also have caused a local disaster. However, the company still did not learn lessons from the 2010 incident and had another significant release of the same toxic gas just over a year later.
“This case must act as a reminder to the industry that there can be no room for complacency when dealing with such dangerous chemicals.”
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