Company fined

A car parts factory has been fined £45,000 in relation to an incident in which a worker died after he was set alight, South Tyneside Today has reported.

Hashimoto employee Ray Davison suffered burns to nearly 90% of his body after accidentally knocking a vat of highly flammable liquid over himself. He later died from his injuries.

The flammable liquid was used to clean a plastic product on a production line, and was in a container on a shelf just above a 150 watt light bulb. When Davison attempted to dislodge some tubes leading from the container which had become tangled, he pulled the container off the shelf spilling the chemicals on to his clothes and the light bulb below. The light bulb exploded and a spark ignited Davison’s clothing.

Martin Baillie, prosecuting on behalf of the HSE, told South Tyneside Magistrates' Court that an accident at the plant was “inevitable”.

He described how safety measures had been ignored, including a lack of training, staff work logbooks being left incomplete, and inadequate risk assessments. Adding:

"The shelf was too small for the tank, and the heat box was not suitable when used in the vicinity of a flammable liquid. The storage tank was not a safe means of storage, there was no information on the tank to alert the employees to the hazards associated with the preparation, and no training was provided in the operation of the new system.”

Hashimoto was fined £15,000 and ordered to pay £30,000 in legal costs after its general manager pleaded guilty on behalf of the firm of failing to ensure an employee's safety as required by the Health and Safety at Work Act.