A manufacturer of high-pressure gas cylinders has been ordered to pay more than £800,000 in fines and costs after a worker was fatally wounded by shrapnel ejected from testing equipment.
A worker died whilst leak testing of eight 1,500-litre cylinders, by applying compressed air inside to create pressure, at the company’s Sheffield site. While in the process of venting the air through the test manifold, it catastrophically failed and killed him.
HSE investigators found that prior to installing the fittings, 1.5 litres of a mineral oil-based corrosion inhibitor had been placed into each of the cylinders. The incident occurred because the inhibitor contaminated the leak test manifold during venting of cylinders and was subjected to enough pressure inside the manifold to ignite and cause the test equipment to fail.
At Sheffield Crown Court, Chesterfield Special Cylinders was found guilty of breaching s 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act. The company was fined £700,000 with full costs of £169,498.
The HSE have commented that this was a tragic and wholly avoidable incident, caused by the failure of the company to identify any additional risks that arise when work processes are adapted.
It is vitally important that companies should accurately identify and control all potential hazards in the workplace and thereafter monitor performance through effective supervision.
