HSE Press Release E011:04 - 22 January 2004

Manufacturer ordered to pay £16,000 for failure to classify pigment

European Colour (Pigments) Limited of Manchester was fined £5,000 with costs of £11,200, yesterday at Stockport Magistrates Court for failing to classify a dangerous substance.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigated an incident on 17 September 2002 where boxes of pigment had started self-heating whilst stored in the parking area of Pear New Mill, a retail and industrial estate in Stockport.

Early that morning wisps of smoke and a smell was detected coming from a trailer containing the pigment. Emergency services were called and made the situation safe after six hours.

HSE Inspector Kevin O'Donnell said: "The pigment being stored, Eljon Yellow XFW, is thermally unstable and prone to self-heating due to a reaction of its constituents. In combustion it emits fumes of carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, oxides of nitrogen, hydrogen chloride and phosgene, which can cause serious injury if inhaled. This could have been a major incident had a fire developed whilst the load was being transported on a public road.

"Manufacturers must understand the properties of hazardous material they transport and store. Failure to correctly classify, package and label the product puts at risk the public, those employed to handle the material and in this instance, the emergency services called to deal with the situation."

EC Pigments pleaded guilty to one charge of breaching the Carriage of Dangerous Goods (Classification, Packaging, and Labelling) etc Regulations 1996, Regulation 5(1), because they consigned dangerous goods without having identified the hazards or dangers of them, failed to provide information about the hazards of these goods, to mark and label them correctly and provide information to the vehicle operator and carrier.

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