A paper coating company has been fined after a worker was burnt following a machinery fire.
Portsmouth Magistrates’ Court was told that the employee of Olympic Varnish Company Limited suffered burn injuries following a fire caused by use of highly flammable liquid to clean rollers on a coating machine.
The HSE investigation into the incident found that the company did not ensure that risks from the use of highly flammable liquids was eliminated or reduced across a number of areas of that activity.
Olympic Varnish Company Limited pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 6 (1) of the Dangerous Substances and Explosive Atmospheres Regulations 2002 and was fined £16,000 and ordered to pay costs of £4,505.40.
The HSE principal inspector on the case commented that those in control of work have a responsibility to devise safe methods of working and to inform, instruct, and train their workers in that safe system of working. In this case, if a suitable safe system of work had been in place prior to the incident, the serious injuries sustained by the employee could have been prevented.
To comply with DSEAR Olympic Varnish Company Limited should have organised for a DSEAR assessment to be completed by competent persons.
