Breach of COSHH Regulations Puts Workers in Hospital

N Starch and Chemical Ltd pleaded guilty to two breaches of health and safety under Sections 6(1) and 7(6) of the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations COSHH at Southampton Crown Court.

An incident took place at their Permabond factory in Eastleigh on 16 January 2002 when three of their employees were taken ill after working without wearing any respiratory protective equipment (RPE).

Ray Kopusto was unconscious and taken to hospital along with his colleague Terry Hesketh. Mr Kopusto was working on the manufacture of an intermediate in a glass reactor and complained of chest pains and feeling light-headed. Mr Hesketh was working on a batch of E3508B. He was discharged from hospital the same day after suffering uncontrolled coughing, difficulty breathing and hyperventilation.

Mick Piskorz was able to return to work later that day after complaining of chest "burning" and tight coughing. He had been using the common industrial solvent dichloromethane (DCM) to clean a Z blade mixer.

A fourth employee Mick Gibbens, who was also working in the unit was unaffected.

There was also an LPG-fired space heater being used in the workroom as the heating system was not working. The extraction fans in the roof had not been restarted following the Christmas break.

The company was fined £12,500.00 for each offence plus £9,866.73 costs. National Starch and Chemical Ltd devoted their entire 2002 capital budget for the Eastleigh operation to health and safety and have invested more than £100,000. In a statement, they expressed regret for the incident and said they had "put in place measures to ensure it does not happen again."

The COSHH Regulations require exposure to such substances to be prevented or properly controlled. The ill effects of hazardous substances have been recognised since the times of the ancient Greeks and Romans so there are no excuses for incidents such as those documented above.
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