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An out of control chemical reaction causes firm a £25,000 fine.
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The Health and Safety Executive has prosecuted Thor Specialities Ltd as a result of a potentially fatal chemical reaction at its plant in Wincham, Northwich on 23 August 2007.
An employee at the plant had been mixing solid and liquid chemicals which eventually caused the release of both toxic and flammable substances into the workplace laboratory.
The employee had continued to mix the chemicals together after mistakenly presuming that as there was no initial reaction to the mixing process that it was safe to continue doing so.
However the chemical reaction suddenly got out of control and generated the hazardous substances into the working environment. The chemicals had reacted so rapidly that it became impossible for the employee to bring the situation safely under control and he had to flee the building.
There were no other employees in the laboratory at the time of the incident although when the alarm system was activated, another employee returned to the scene to investigate only to be forced to abandon the plant as a result of the cloud of toxic fumes.
The HSE report into the incident was damning in its criticism of Thor Specialities and accused them of both neglecting to conduct an effective risk assessment and failing to ensure satisfactory control procedures were in place at the plant. It also emerged that the employee who had mixed the chemicals hadn't received the necessary training to be dealing with such potentially hazardous substances and that furthermore, there wasn't adequate supervision of both the employee and the working environment when the chemical reaction occurred.
Therefore the employee wasn't aware of the dangers of the mixing process, nor was anybody on hand to warn him against the risk of doing so.
The HSE Inspector who was in charge of the investigation conveyed the potential impact the accident could have had: "It is only luck that none of Thor's staff were in the production hall at the time of the incident as it's unlikely they would have been able to escape unharmed without help.
They would have been at serious risk from toxic chemical exposure, or a flash fire or explosion, if the flammable vapours released had ignited. They could easily have suffered permanent injuries or even been killed. Chemical factories must make sure safety is their top priority." Thor Specialities Ltd, who produce chemical products for the news, construction and cosmetics industries, pleaded guilty to breaches to the Health and Safety Act and were ordered to pay a fine of £25,000 in addition to costs of £15,000 on 14 October 2011.
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Katie Brown
SMPR (Simply Marcomms Ltd)
18 Generator Hall
Coventry
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