Tata Chemicals fined following multiple incidents
An international chemical firm has been fined more than £100,000 following three separate incidents at its factory in Cheshire.
Chester Crown Court heard the first incident took place on 29 January 2010 at Tata Chemicals Europe Ltd’s plant in Northwich. A worker was trying to reach a pump to restart it when his right foot went through a missing part of a grating. He stepped into a sump, which was used to collect overflowing chemicals and contained toxic liquid at a temperature of approximately 95oC. He suffered serious burns to his foot, losing a layer of skin. He required treatment for 18 months.
On 25 July 2010, a dangerous gas was released inside the factory, which resulted in workers being exposed to high levels of carbon monoxide in part of the plant. €
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Tata Chemicals fined following multiple incidents
An international chemical firm has been fined more than £100,000 following three separate incidents at its factory in Cheshire.
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An international chemical firm has been fined more than £100,000 following three separate incidents at its factory in Cheshire.
I personally find this disturbing, the pharmecutical and chemical industries in this country were leaders in safety in the recent past. It appears that the shift in ownership has taken with it the culture of safety first. It is encouraging that the people running these plants are candid in response and recognise the need to up their game. I hope that we are not witnessing the decline of safety in this country. There is no world standard, some countries still put profit before safety Not UK Pleas
I sometimes feel I’m living in a parallel universe… This is a website for safety professionals and presumably people who understand health and safety regulation.
Has no one heard about ‘self regulation??’ it is not HSEs fault for the failing of an employer. It is the employers fault. Society cannot have it both ways – moaning about the health and safety regulator for being over zealous and then for not doing enough..
HSE should be congratulated for a thorough investigation
Why is such poor practice permitted?
Safety starts from the top down.
Those at the top and those designated as being responsible for interim inspections of the work place and those that were responsible for training are all neglegent?
Yet little appears to be done to redress this failing.
If they can`t even get safe access and egress to a place of work right, I dread to think what else is ignored?
Chemical corrosion of steel, well I never, that`s a new one? God help us.
“The general conditions we found at the plant were extremely poor.”
And I would suggest did not happen overnight and would have been obvious to any visitor to the plant. Why did the HSE not act before this? Why do they not chase after these bad cases instead of doing their routine COMAH inspections on the good guys?
It is very sad to see the home of the UK chemical industry reduced to this state.
Professionally speaking we are saying that “self regulation” is not working here. But anyway where does your idea of self regulation come from. We have H&S regulations and HSE are the enforcing body. They do in many instances, e.g. COMAH, carry out routine inspections so I was asking how often they had been in to visit becuase the conditions in here were very poor.
Self-regulation is a manifestation of the so-called tripartite system – the regulator, employer and union (employee representative). The notion that a form of self-regulation exists was promulgated by Lord Robens via HSWA, which is to some extent out dated by modern times, notwithstanding the plethora of regulations and guidance which now exists.
As far as I’m concerned self-regulation has never existed in any industry, except in the figment of some peoples’ minds – sad but true.
I am an eighty eight year old retired SHP and I find most of these cases are a repetition of accidents that have gone on through the ages. I have seen many people mutilated and killed throughout my lifetime, sixteen of those years in mines rescue work.
The government in their wisdom are trying to encourage self regulation, and in my lengthy experience – it has never worked.