The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has prosecuted a company in Leicestershire, after employees suffered chemical burns.

In September 2008, agency workers Wayne Saddington and William Christie Burton Gillespie were working at the Leicestershire factory and were asked to mix up a batch of adhesives.

The men had only been working for Anglo Adhesives and Services Ltd for a few weeks and were given instructions on a job card telling them to clean out a plastic barrel, add two solvents and then use an electric mixer in a solid resin to mix them together.

As they began mixing, the flammable vapour above the liquid ignited, sending a flame shooting upwards. It set fire to Mr Saddington’s high-visibility tabard and singed the hair and burned the faces of both employees.

On Wednesday (04/11/09) at Melton Magistrates’ Court, Anglo Adhesives and Services Ltd, of Dalby Road, Melton Mowbray pleaded guilty to breaching Regulations 5 (1) and 6(1) of the

Dangerous Substances and Explosive Atmospheres Regulations 2002 – and also admitted breaching Section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 for failing to ensure people in their employment were not exposed to health and safety risks. The company was fined £15,000 and ordered to pay costs of £5,500.

After the hearing, HSE inspector Will Pascoe said that, because the two workers had only been working for the firm for a short period of time, the company should have given them ‘proper instructions’ – and there should have been a risk assessment and a safe system of working.

Mr Pascoe said Mr Saddington and Mr Gillespie should have been told to use a metallic drum that was earthed – and they should have used a mixer suitable for use in an explosive atmosphere.

‘They were not experienced in working with flammable liquids and were not

aware of the danger they were putting themselves in,’ said Mr Pascoe.

‘Mr Saddington and Mr Gillespie were incredibly lucky not to have suffered more

severe injuries. I hope this case serves as a warning to other companies not to put

the lives of their workers in danger,’ Mr Pascoe added.

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