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March/April 2023 issue

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News

Fuel co sentenced over Stanlow tank explosion

Open-access content Wednesday 27th September 2017
From the archive:  Just so you know, this article is more than 3 years old.

During the waste oil recovery process at ESL Fuels' north blend tank farm at Stanlow Oil Terminal, liquid started to foam and overflow from a storage vessel, Liverpool Crown Court was told.

To temporarily remedy the issue, ESL used relief pipework to connect the leaking vessel to an emergency dump tank to collect foam.

This caused combustible gases to build up and create a flammable atmosphere in the pipes and secondary tank.

On 19 January 2015 an ESL contract worker used an angle grinder to cut one of the pipes that joined the two vessels. The flammable gases in the pipe ignited and the build-up of pressure caused the lid of the dump tank to detach.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that ESL had failed to inform the contractor of the process works taking place at the facility.

The company pleaded guilty to breaching ss 2(1) and 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act and was fined £100,000. It must also pay £17,000 in costs.

After the hearing HSE inspector Matthew Lea said: "Even though nobody was injured, this incident could have been prevented if the work of the contractors had been controlled.

"The contractors were given a very basic induction and were not told about health and safety issues in relation to ESL Fuels being a COMAH [control of major accident hazards regulations] major hazard site. Contractors were not warned about the process work being carried out in the north blend tank farm and how it could impact on them."

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Friday 13th October 2017
ESL Fuels, which owned the lower-tier COMAH site at Ellesmere Port where it manufactured fuel products, was fined £100,000, with costs of £17,000 awarded to the HSE, at Liverpool Crown Court over the incident.In January 2015, waste oil contaminated with cobalt was being cleaned and converted into a clean energy source inside a 6 m-tall vessel (T 227) at the company’s North Blend Tank Farm. Nitric acid had been added to remove the cobalt impurities and this caused the waste oil to start to foam and overflow from the vessel into a bund.
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 Fatal 3 m fall costs Iceland Foods £2.5m

Wednesday 20th September 2017
On 28 October 2013 contractor Anthony Hopkins visited the Sycamore Road store in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, to replace the filters in an air handling unit on a plant platform above a suspended ceiling in the warehouse. He fell almost 3 m through the ceiling, sustaining fatal injuries.An investigation by Adrian Monkhouse, principal environmental health officer at Rotherham Council, found there were no barriers to prevent falls from the platform. The area immediately in front of its access ladder was only 45 cm wide and cabling presented trip hazards.
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 *UPDATE* Greencore supplied 1.7 m ladder for 3 m job

Monday 11th September 2017
Self-employed electrician David Shanks had been contracted by Greencore to fit new machinery designed to deliver icing sugar to mixing machines located in the sugar paste room at its cake and dessert production factory in Hull. The work involved wiring two motors, which were on a gantry 3 m above ground.
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 TUC charter to protect ill workers now covers half a million

Thursday 7th September 2017
The voluntary charter is part of a wider TUC campaign which calls for a terminal illness to be viewed as a “protected characteristic”. Charter signatories agree that terminally ill employees enter a “protected period” in which they cannot be dismissed because of their condition.Although the UK’s 2010 Equality Act does offer some protection for terminally ill employees, employers can dismiss them if they fail a capability assessment after “reasonable adjustments” have been made to their work arrangements, resulting in loss of income and loss of death in-service payments.
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 Greencore fined £1m over fatal stepladder fall

Wednesday 6th September 2017
Hull Crown Court was told that Greencore Grocery had contracted the worker to carry out repairs at its factory in Hull in October 2013. The company provided the electrician with a stepladder to stand on while wiring a motor situated above a machine, when he fell and sustained fatal injuries. Greencore had failed to properly plan the job, said the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), including access arrangements for the installation of motors.
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 Hotel receptionist passed out from exposure to cleaning agents

Tuesday 24th October 2017
In March 2015 two receptionists were ordered to clean the spa and swimming pool at Fredrick’s Hotel, Restaurant and Spa in Maidenhead. They began vomiting after 30 minutes and one of them passed out.In a separate incident another employee sustained burns while using a decarboniser – a heated stainless steel tank for cleaning equipment and utensils in commercial kitchens – which was running at 82°C.  The Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead said its officers visited the site and found staff had not been properly trained in the use of cleaning agents.
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 IOSH launches new five-year strategy

Tuesday 21st March 2023
IOSH launches its new five-year strategy this spring. It will build and act on the reshaped purpose and ambition gained during WORK 2022, which ran from 2017 to 2022.
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 Risk & Compliance software provider collaborates with HSE and Costain to improve risk management on worksites

Friday 17th March 2023
A Belfast-based Risk & Compliance software provider has been collaborating with the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and construction giant Costain as part of an ongoing project to unlock artificial intelligence’s (AI) potential in improving the management of risks on worksites.
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 Spring budget and occupational health

Friday 17th March 2023
Richard Jones CFIOSH, comments on the occupational health aspects of the Chancellor Jeremy Hunt's first budget statement.
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 Akzonobel company fined £800,000 after explosion

Friday 9th December 2022
Akzonobel company fined £800,000 after explosion A worker was left with all-over body scarring, partial blindness and hearing damage after an explosion at a chemicals firm.
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 Safety video of fatal hydrogen sulphide incident released to improve US industry practices

Friday 6th August 2021
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 Legal update: amendments to REACH and radiation regs

Tuesday 13th April 2021
The EU Commission has issued three new amendments to REACH and an updated edition of radiation guidance has been published.
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 Appeal dismissed over fire alarm hearing loss

Friday 1st July 2022
Indigo Sun Retail’s appeal against a court finding it liable for damages over a former employee’s hearing loss and tinnitus has been dismissed.
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 Sound and fury in the open-plan office

Open-plan office noise increases stress and worsens mood, and it will require a new approach from the profession to tackle it.
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 Power dressing for smart PPE

Thursday 6th May 2021
Smart PPE promises greater safety and comfort, but what challenges will OSH professionals need to overcome?
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 How to mitigate the risks of complex supply chains

Thursday 2nd March 2023
Businesses are often reliant on complex supply chains, which can make them vulnerable to crises. Here’s how OSH professionals can support business continuity.
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 BEIS’ agency workers regs could endanger safety, unions warn

Wednesday 5th October 2022
Unions have voiced concerns that employers that use agency workers to fill safety-critical roles during strikes could, potentially, be putting employee safety at risk if they haven’t been fully trained.
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 How to raise ESG standards in your supply chain

This webinar will cover supply chain risks and the potential impact to organisations, and our panel will offer tips on how to raise ESG standards in your supply chain.
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 Penalties mount for vehicle parts maker on OSHA’s ‘severe violator enforcement programme’

Wednesday 10th August 2022
The US Department of Labor has presented an Ohio-based vehicle parts manufacturer on its ‘severe violator enforcement programme’ with a fine of $480,240 (approx. £373,000) after inspectors found it had continually exposed workers to multiple machine hazards
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 Dyson lands £1.2m fine after worker escapes more serious injuries

Friday 5th August 2022
Dyson Technologies has been handed a £1.2 million fine after a worker at its Wiltshire site narrowly escaped being crushed by a 1.5 tonne milling machine.
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 Talking shop: hand dominance

Friday 1st July 2022
How should organisations consider left-handedness in their safety management systems? Four industry leaders offer their thoughts.
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Latest from Chemicals

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 Director was unfairly dismissed as H&S officer did not raise concerns over cryo-chamber installation

Wednesday 9th November 2022
A director who had installed a cryotherapy chamber was unfairly dismissed, a tribunal has ruled, because the technical director and principal health and safety officer at the business failed to raise concerns about the work undertaken.
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 HSE report highlights risks posed by hazardous atmospheres in freight containers at ports and distribution centres

Friday 4th November 2022
Research published by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has identified some weaknesses in the control measures at a number of ports and distribution centres in relation to workers coming into contact with hazardous substances when examining or unloading freight containers.
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 £3m fine for Carlsberg after ‘entirely preventable’ fatality

Thursday 7th July 2022
Global brewing giant Carlsberg has been fined £3 million after a contractor died and another was seriously injured following an ammonia gas leak at one of its breweries. We speak to HSE Principal Inspector Samantha Wells about the case.
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Friday 20th January 2023
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 Appeal success for food firm over ‘excessive’ fine

Tuesday 1st November 2022
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 HSE publishes revised construction fire safety guidance

Thursday 1st September 2022
The GB Health and Safety Executive has recently published a revised version of its fire safety in construction (HSG168) document. 
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