HSE Warns Employers against Violating Safety Norms for Work in Confined Spaces
After the death of two employees of a company due to suffocation, the HSE has warned companies to ensure that all safety precautions and norms are adhered to with respect to working in confined spaces. The statement was released after the HSE successfully prosecuted Bodycote H.I.P. Ltd of Macclesfield, Cheshire, for the deaths of two employees.
The company pleaded guilty in the case brought before the Worcester Crown Court on 24th April 2009. The HSE accused the company of violating section 2(1) of the Health and Safety Act 1974 when the two employees died at its College Road, Hereford manufacturing plant. The company has been fined £533,000 and ordered to pay costs of £200,000.
On 14th June, 2004, the company’s Maintenance Engineer and Works Manager died of asphyxiation when they entered a space where argon gas from one of the pressure vessels in the plant had leaked. The oxygen alarm system and ventilation systems were later found to have been switched off at the time, leading to the deaths of the employees.
A similar incident had occurred at another Bodycote site in California in the United States three years ago. In spite of that, the company failed to take precautions against the effects of argon leakage and the safety risks of confined spaces, leading to an incident which was regrettable and entirely preventable, according to HSE inspector Luke Messenger. Though the safety systems were in place, employees had not been trained on the same, nor was there any audit to verify whether the systems were being put to proper use, he added. Companies need to be sure that they are giving the correct instructions to employees with regard to health and safety issues - click on IOSH Training, for courses which can assist companies in training staff.
The ventilation system which could have removed the dangerous gas and the oxygen alarm system which could have warned of the low level of oxygen were both switched off on that particular day. If these had been working the tragedy would never have occurred, said Messenger.
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