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A foundry in Stoke has been fined £8,000 plus £4,798 in costs after a worker fell into an unfenced pit housing a mould containing molten metal at 900°C.
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A foundry in Stoke has been fined £8,000 plus £4,798 in costs after a worker fell into an unfenced pit housing a mould containing molten metal at 900°C. The 28 year old worker suffered severe burns to his left arm and upper legs. The man who wishes not to be named, needed skin grafts on his injured limbs which are still scarred, following the incident on the 5th May 2010.
During the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) prosecution, Fenton Magistrates' Court heard the worker is still undergoing physiotherapy for restricted movement in his arm, hand and fingers, and is so traumatised by the experience he has not been able to return to any work at the foundry.
The accident happened when the employee was using a long-handled tool to remove impurities from the top of a newly poured casting. He tripped and fell through an unfenced gap between the metal mould and the pit it was in. The man tried to use the tool to prevent himself from falling into the pit, but landed on the edge of the mould and his arm briefly entered the mould of molten metal. The impurities just scraped from the mould burnt his upper legs.
The HSE's investigation found there was no guard railing around the edge of the mould pit and the company had failed to recognise the risk of workers falling into the pit and Copper Alloys Ltd. admitted breaching Regulation 13(5) of the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992.
A HSE inspector commented "Companies, particularly those working with dangerous substances, must ensure they fit suitable guard railing or covers to protect their workers."
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SMPR
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