A Leicestershire company whose business involved the storage of aerosols has been prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) for not managing its fire risks adequately.

AM Widdowson & Son Ltd of Mill Lane Industrial Estate, Glenfield in Leicestershire stored large amounts of aerosol products, including storing quantities of LPG (liquefied petroleum gas) for around seven months. However, the company did not notify the authorities of its operations on site and did not complete a risk assessment. The company also failed to implement industry-recognised good practice regarding the storage of the materials.

On Monday (11/01/2010) at Coalville Magistrates’ Court in Leicestershire, the company pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 6(2) of the Control of Major Accident Hazards Regulations 1999 (COMAH) and Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974. The court imposed a fine of £5,000 with £4,900 costs.

After the hearing, HSE inspector James Wright said that the storage arrangements AM Widdowson had in place had fallen below the standards expected by the HSE.

‘On this occasion, with the amount of LPG being stored on site, there was a real risk of a major fire, which would have posed a threat to employees on site and those in the surrounding area.

‘The company also failed to notify the HSE that they were operating a site which came under the COMAH Regulations.’

Mr Wright added that the case should serve as a reminder to all operators of sites warehousing aerosol products that, where ‘there are serious failures to implement suitable arrangements for managing the risks from LPG’, the HSE would not hesitate to prosecute.

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