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December 10, 2013

Leisure centre operator fined after toddler receives third degree burns

 

 

The operator of the Great Dunmow Leisure Centre in Essex has been fined after a two-and-a-half-year-old boy suffered severe burns in the changing area of the centre’s swimming pool.
 
The toddler’s father, who does not wish to be named, was walking him to the pool after getting him ready for his weekly swimming lesson on 18 February 2012, when the little boy slipped and fell onto his bottom on a recently cleaned drain cover.
 
The drain had been cleaned with a drain cleaner containing sodium hydroxide — a highly corrosive chemical also known as caustic soda or lye, and used to dissolve grease and hair. The chemical burnt through the toddler’s swimming shorts and swim nappy and left him with third degree, full skin thickness alkaline burns to his buttocks and the back of his right thigh. He was immediately taken to hospital, where he stayed for 10 days with his family to receive emergency medical treatment including a skin graft.
 
Chelmsford Crown Court heard last week (5 December) that an investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that the company had failed to put a robust system of work in place for cleaning this type of drain. This system should not only have included clear instructions on how the drains should be cleaned, but also established whose responsibility it was to clean drains. The company also failed to properly assess its use of chemicals and provide proper training on the use of these chemicals.
 
HSE inspectors told the Court that the leisure centre management team had also admitted they had been unaware of the presence of the chemical on site.
 
Leisure Connection Ltd, of Potton House, Great North Road, Wyboston, Bedford, was fined £45,000 with costs of £20,746 after admitting breaching Section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974.
 
After the hearing, HSE inspector Kim Tichias said: “This incident, which left a little boy with life changing injuries, was entirely preventable.
 
“Leisure centre operators have a duty to ensure that members of the public of all ages can enjoy their facilities safely. This includes putting the appropriate training and system of work in place to manage the risks of using cleaning chemicals.
 
“HSE will always consider prosecuting companies which put people at risk through negligence.”
 
Speaking to SHP, she added: “This is a case where a company didn’t have robust systems or training in place to deal with the chemicals they were using. Companies should understand that they may only be using over the counter cleaning chemicals – but they can contain corrosives that can be dangerous when used in certain ways and in certain quantities.” 

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