Prosecutions

Company fined for exposing employees to metalworking fluid 16/12/2009 The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has warned employers who work with metalworking fluids to ensure they take the appropriate safety precautions after an entire workforce at a Barnsley company were exposed to metalworking fluid mist.

The company pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act and was fined £20,000 and ordered to pay £15,280 costs at Barnsley Magistrates Court.

The court heard that between 12 December 2007 and 8 May 2008, almost all of the employees at the company were exposed to a metal working fluid mist, which was being emitted from more than 100 metal work machines.

The company had used water-based chemicals during the manufacture of bearings for the automotive industry. The process involved spraying the metalworking fluid onto fast rotating tool pieces at high pressure. This created a mist, which was potentially being breathed in by employees. There was nothing in place to contain or extract the mist away from workers.

Exposure to metal working fluid mist is a known cause of occupational asthma and extrinsic allergic alveolitis (EAA). Since 2005 there have been 15 reported cases of these illnesses by employees at the company – this is the second largest exposure of its kind in the UK at a single company.

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