Three employees were overcome by toxic gas, which was released when they were attempting to clear a blockage at a processing plant, a court has heard.
The incident, which occurred at a blood and feather processing plant in Newark, could have proved fatal had it not been for the quick reactions of workmates, who resuscitated two of the men at the scene.
Sitting on 11 December, Nottingham Crown Court heard that a team of workers had been called out on the night of 26 February 2006 to rectify a blockage at the plant, which had been in operation for just six to eight weeks. Robert Warriner, an operator fitter, and Przemyslaw Cliber, a Polish general labourer, investigated the blockage and decided that its source was a condenser, which was connected to a storage vessel. The employees had not been informed that the vessel was likely to contain either hydrogen sulphide or carbon dioxide, a by-product of the rendering process, and considered toxic when inhaled in high concentrations.
To access the condenser, the workers used a cherry picker. They took the cover off the condenser, and found dirt blocking the passage. As they worked to clear the dirt, the gas was suddenly released, and the two men fell unconscious after inhaling the toxic fumes. Although PPE and respiratory equipment was available, the workers’ lack of awareness of the hazards meant that this was not used.
On realising that there was a problem, a third employee, David Szypusz, used a second cherry picker, which the group had already set up in case they needed it, to reach the men. He then climbed over to assist the men, and lowered the basket, before they were treated on the ground with the help of a fourth colleague. Warriner required artificial ventilation for a period of four days, while Szypusz was also treated in hospital after inhaling the gas.
At the hearing in Nottingham, JG Pears (Newark) Ltd was fined £100,000 and ordered to pay £38,052 costs after pleading guilty to breaching s2(1) of the HSWA 1974 and reg. 3(1) of the MHSWR 1999. The fine was split equally between the two offences.
In mitigation, the company said it had installed level and pressure-monitoring equipment to help identify future potential blockages. It also said it had taken steps to make sure the incident could not happen again, for example, by training directors and workers in health and safety. It now has in place a new health and safety manager and operations director.
HSE investigating inspector, Francine Clarke, told SHP: “The company should have assessed the design of the plant and the probability of blockages. They should then have made sure that employees had the correct instruction, training and supervision, PPE, etc to deal with any hazards.”
She added: “In this case, the company did not ensure a risk assessment was done before the job, nor did they ensure the staff were skilled for the task.”
Approaches to managing the risks associated Musculoskeletal disorders
In this episode of the Safety & Health Podcast, we hear from Matt Birtles, Principal Ergonomics Consultant at HSE’s Science and Research Centre, about the different approaches to managing the risks associated with Musculoskeletal disorders.
Matt, an ergonomics and human factors expert, shares his thoughts on why MSDs are important, the various prevalent rates across the UK, what you can do within your own organisation and the Risk Management process surrounding MSD’s.
