Tamworth firm fined for man's burns

Date:

18 April 2011

Release No:

WM418/11

A worker suffered serious burns from a flash fire after opening an oven door at a factory unit in Tamworth.

The incident happened at Enviro-Strip (UK) Ltd's premises in Wilnecote. The firm strips paint and coatings from metal parts for the automotive industry.

During the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) prosecution, Burton-on-Trent Magistrates' Court heard the incident happened when 24-year-old man, who has asked not to be identified, was supervising the opening of the specialised oven, used to remove paint from metal in a low-oxygen environment.

The specialised oven which caused the worker's injuries

He suffered acute burns on his face, arm, neck and left hand when the resulting flash fire from the 400 degree oven caught his upper body, on 19 March 2010. He was airlifted to hospital and put into an induced coma and kept on a high dependency ward for four days. He is back at work but cannot stay out in sunlight as his skin is now too sensitive.

The HSE investigation found a safety device designed to prevent the door from being opened at temperatures above 260 degrees had been deliberately bypassed.

The court heard the company failed to consider the risk of fire and explosion from the paints inside the oven, the effect of introducing additional oxygen by opening the oven door, and at what temperature it was safe to open the oven.

Enviro-Strip, whose registered office is at Cross Keys, Lichfield, pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 and Regulation 5(1) of the Dangerous Substances and Explosive Atmospheres Regulations 2002. The company was fined £20,000 in total and ordered to pay £6491 costs.

Speaking after the hearing, HSE inspector Gail Pannell said:

"This was a very serious, entirely preventable incident that could easily have been fatal and left a man on a life support machine. He is extremely lucky to have recovered from his injuries.

"When working with potentially dangerous substances at high temperatures, companies must carry out proper risk assessments and set up a safe system of work.

"This includes checking that safety devices are fit for purpose and suitably maintained."

Notes to editors

1. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is Britain's national regulator for workplace health and safety. It aims to reduce death, injury and ill health. It does so through research, information and advice, promoting training, new or revised regulations and codes of practice, and working with local authority partners by inspection, investigation and enforcement. www.hse.gov.uk
2. Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 states: "It shall be the duty of every employer to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health, safety and welfare at work of all his employees."
3. Regulation 5(1) of the Dangerous Substances and Explosive Atmospheres Regulations 2002 states: "Where a dangerous substance is or is liable to be present at the workplace, the employer shall make a suitable and sufficient assessment of the risks to his employees which arise from that substance."

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Issued on behalf of the Health and Safety Executive by COI News & PR West Midlands