HSE Warns Of Dangers Of Confined Spaces

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) recently warned employers and staff of the dangers of working in confined spaces, following the prosecution of a Macclesfield-based multinational group after two employees died while undertaking routine tasks in a Herefordshire factory.

On 14 June 2004, the works manager and maintenance engineer at a manufacturing plant in Hereford, owned by Bodycote HIP Ltd of Macclesfield, Cheshire, were found collapsed on the stairs leading to a concrete-lined pit, into which argon gas had leaked from a large pressure vessel.

The HSE’s investigation found that on the day of the incident, the ventilation system, which could have removed the leaking argon before it became a problem, and the oxygen alarm system, which would have warned of the oxygen-depleted atmosphere, were not switched on. Had these systems been working, these two deaths may not have occurred.

Commenting on the circumstances of the deaths, HSE Inspector Luke Messenger said, “Both these tragic deaths were not only regrettable but also entirely preventable. The risks from confined spaces and asphyxiation due to the presence of argon were well known to the company, which had experience of a similar double fatality at a Bodycote Group site in California, just three years earlier.”

He added, “Despite this warning, the company failed to undertake a proper risk assessment for entry into the confined space. Although they had implemented a safe system of work and permit to work procedure, they had not properly trained employees in their use, or ensured that these systems and procedures were being followed through their auditing procedure.”

Bodycote HIP Ltd pleaded guilty to breaching s.2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work, etc Act 1974, which covers the duty of the employer to ensure, so far as reasonably practicable, the health, safety and welfare at work of all the employees. The company was fined £533,000 and ordered to pay costs of £200,000 on 24 July 2009.

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Source: Croners

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