The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has prosecuted a refinery and petrochemical company, after a subcontractor required hospital treatment when he was electrocuted.

In November 2006, the employee was working for Ineos Manufacturing Scotland Ltd at Grangemouth, widening an existing cable trench containing several live electrical cables. He struck two live 3,300-volt cables with a powered breaking tool called a Jackhammer and suffered burns to his hands and face.

On Tuesday, 20 October at Falkirk Sheriff’s Court, Ineos Manufacturing Scotland Ltd of Bo'ness Road, Grangemouth, pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 4(3) of the Electricity at Work Regulations 1989 and was fined £1,500.

After the hearing, HSE inspector Dr Heather Gates said both men involved in the incident were ‘lucky to be alive’. Dr Gates said the accident could have been prevented with careful planning and risk management to avoid any potential dangers.

‘Ineos Manufacturing Scotland Ltd and contractors should have conducted an adequate risk assessment before work started,’ said Dr Gates. ‘They were aware of the live cables, but underestimated the risks associated with working so close to them.

‘They did not give sufficient consideration to the option of isolating the cables – nor could they justify why the electricity supply was not isolated,’ said Dr Gates.

She went on to say that Ineos failed to use other measures to ‘minimise the risks to staff’ – including the use of digging techniques that would have avoided damage to live cables.

‘I hope this case will remind companies how important it is for electrical work to be properly planned and implemented – without proper planning, employers are putting workers’ lives at risk,’ she added.

HSE figures show that around 1,000 people in the UK are injured every year from electric shocks while at work – around 25 die from their injuries. More information on preventing workplace accidents involving electric shocks is available at www.hse.gov.uk/electricity. 

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