A waitress at a hotel suffered burns to her eyes, face, and chest when an open bottle of oven cleaner splashed on her.
Gemma Taylor, 22, was working at Whitworth Hall Hotel in Spennymoor, County Durham, when the incident took place on 9 May 2009. The hotel was hosting a wedding and Ms Taylor was asked by the hotel’s trainee manager to help find a roll of mop-up tissue.
She began searching for the roll inside an unlit storage cupboard, where a bottle of oven cleaner had been stored on a shelf three feet above the ground, without a lid and with the warning labels pointing away from her. When she moved the bottle the liquid splashed out on to her face and she suffered corneal abrasion on her eyes and burns to her face and chest. She was unable to return to work for two weeks and has subsequently made a full recovery.
The incident was investigated by Durham County Council, which found that although the hotel had suitable systems in place for storing chemicals, they had not been properly monitored, or managed.
Whitworth Hall Country Park Ltd, which owns the hotel, appeared at Darlington Magistrates’ Court on 12 October and pleaded guilty to breaching s2(1) of the HSWA 1974 and reg.8 of the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992, for failing to adequately light the cupboard. It was fined a total of £8700 and £3229 in costs.
In mitigation, the company said it had adequate procedures in place and its staff should have followed them. It has subsequently put a light in the cupboard and installed signs to warn that dangerous chemicals are stored inside. The oven cleaner is now kept at the bottom of the cupboard and the company monitors who has access to the storage area.
The firm also said it had no previous convictions and entered an early guilty plea.
After the hearing, the council’s head of environment, health and consumer protection, Joanne Waller, said: “This case should serve as a warning to other businesses that they need to take their responsibility for the health, safety and welfare of their staff seriously.
“It is not enough for employers to simply have risk assessments and procedures written down – they must also make sure their staff are aware of them and follow them properly.”
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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.
Steve Paul you are wrong!
What beggars belief is that a highly corrosive and dangerous product such as oven cleaner was being stored in an open container.
beggars belief, how much of the cause should be laid upon the IP. the word clumsy springs to mind, the words not taking reponsibility for ones own actions springs to mind. Unlit, but not dark, and unless she was a midget 3ft is not an unsafe height. hurry up with your reforms Mr. Cameron, this country needs you