A Hull-based manufacturer was sentenced and fined after a 31-year-old employee suffered 13% superficial burns to his arm and hand following the ignition of flammable vapours.
On 21 August 2017, a batch of hairspray was being mixed in a 10,000-litre stainless steel mixing vessel. As ethanol was pumped directly into the vessel through pipework, other ingredients of the hairspray mix (liquid and powder) were added to the vessel through a manway lid on the top of the vessel. The mixing process then required the addition of heat through the integral steam coil within the vessel.
As the employee was adding powders into the vessel through the lid using a metal scoop, the flammable vapours around the lid ignited, briefly engulfing his upper torso.
An investigation carried out by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that the extraction system installed to remove flammable vapours from the area was not adequate to prevent the creation of a flammable atmosphere. The ignition source was likely the metal scoop or build-up of static electricity on the worker's clothing.
Robert McBride Ltd pleaded guilty to breaching the Dangerous Substances and Explosive Atmospheres (DSEAR) Regulations SI 2002/2776. The company was fined £480,000 and ordered to pay costs of £13,441.80.
After the hearing, HSE inspector David Stewart said: "Dutyholders should carry out a DSEAR risk assessment in areas where there is a potential for the creation of explosive or flammable atmospheres in order to identify adequate control measures."
