The director of a fuel tank manufacturing business has been banned from holding a directorship for five years, after an investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found workers had been exposed to lead, as well as dangerous working practices.

Inspectors from the HSE investigated and prosecuted Brian Nixon of Evesham in Worcestershire and the company Transtore (UK) Ltd – based in Stratford-upon-Avon – after a receiving a complaint from a worried employee.

The HSE found that workers at Transtore were exposed to lead and other harmful chemicals while paint was sprayed at the plant without the correct safety measures in place. Workers were also put at risk of falls from height, with no safety equipment provided.

During the HSE’s investigation, specialist inspectors took air samples from the site, as well as blood and urine samples from employees to assess their exposure to lead and other harmful chemicals being sprayed in unsafe working conditions.

The company was criticised for allowing workers to spray paint containing toxic lead chromate without adequate controls in place, leaving them to inhale harmful fumes and absorb lead into their bloodstream.

The fumes have the potential to cause headaches, tiredness, and stomach pains – long-term exposure can lead to irreversible central and peripheral nervous system damage, kidney damage and gastrointestinal problems.

The HSE found that five workers required blood and urine tests and all results showed higher levels of lead than the UK population average.

The HSE also found that employees were also expected to stand beneath half-tonne fuel tanks they were painting during the spraying process, with nothing to prevent them from being crushed if the lifting equipment – which had not been maintained or checked properly – failed.

The company was criticised for allowing its employees to work on top of the tanks with no safety equipment to prevent them falling two metres onto the concrete floor. The workers received no training or instructions and were left to devise their own systems of work.

The HSE served four prohibition notices on the company during its investigation, in an attempt to stop unsafe working practices immediately. It also issued four improvement notices. Mr Nixon ignored the notice prohibiting work at height and continued to instruct his employees to work on top of the tanks.

On Monday 19 April, 2010 at Stratford-upon-Avon Magistrates’ Court, Brian Nixon – managing director of Transtore (UK) Ltd – admitting breaching Regulation 4(1) of the Work at Height Regulations 2005 and Section 33(1)(g) of the Health and Safety at Work etc  Act 1974. He was fined £17,000 and ordered to pay £9,169 costs.

Transtore (UK) Ltd – based at Long Marston Storage in Campden Road, Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire – was fined £70,000 with costs of £27,507, after being found guilty of eight separate breaches of health and safety law. The company is now in administration.

After the hearing, HSE Inspector Peter Snelgrove said:

‘Mr Nixon deliberately flouted health and safety laws and paid scant regard to the safety of his employees.

‘I agree with what the District Judge said in court about it being “a lamentable situation” – and it was very fortunate that there were no injuries before we carried out our investigation. 

‘Legal proceedings highlighted that there was a complete, flagrant lack of attention and – as we heard in court – a gross dereliction of duty by the management of this company.

‘Companies and their managing directors have a legal responsibility to protect their employees,’ Mr Snelgrove added.

‘No one should be expected to work in the conditions found at Transtore – and it is quite right that an employee contacted HSE to complain.

‘Failure to properly manage health and safety can have catastrophic results,’ he warned.

© 5r1 Limited 2010