Prosecutions
A snack food manufacturer and a chemical distributor have been fined a total of £350,000 after a worker died when he inhaled a green cloud of toxic gas.
The poisonous fumes overcame the employee of the distributor in July 2006 as he was delivering chemicals to manufacturers Leicester plant, for use in its starch reclamation unit.
Two of the lorry’s four tanks contained sodium chlorite, while the other two held hydrochloric acid. When the employee accidentally mixed up the hoses he was using to transfer the chemicals at the site, they produced dangerous green fumes of chlorine dioxide.
As soon as he realised his mistake, he stopped the transfer process. But as he started to hose the area down, the gas was already affecting him. Chlorine dioxide causes fluid to build up in the lungs, leading eventually to respiratory failure
He was taken to Leicester Royal Infirmary but died a month later when his condition deteriorated.
An employee of the manufacturer, who had tried to help him, later recovered after spending 30 hours in hospital with breathing difficulties.
“Employees of the snack food manufacturer, who tried to help the victim, did not know the type of operation that was being carried out, nor the nature of the gas being released,” said the HSE’s investigating inspector. “They had no appropriate training and they had no idea what to do.”
The HSE’s investigation found that it took the manufacturer about an hour after the gas cloud had appeared to appreciate the seriousness of the incident and get employees out of the area.
There was no planned evacuation procedure for a chemical emergency at the site, bulk tanks were insufficiently labelled and there were inadequate written procedures for the delivery and receipt of chemicals.
Both companies pleaded guilty to breaching Sections 2(1) and 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act by failing to ensure the safety of their employees and others.
At Leicester Crown Court, the judge fined the snack food manufacturer £200,000 plus £38,971 costs, and the chemical distributor £150,000 with costs of £29,229.