Victorian prosecutions
There have been no major prosecutions since the last edition
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UK: Worker's burns cost company £0.5m
A chemical firm has had to pay out almost £500,000 (AD approximately $880,000) in fines and costs after a worker suffered superficial burns when hairspray chemicals ignited. Robert McBride Ltd was handed the penalty for criminal safety breaches after the 31-year-old worker suffered 13 per cent burns to his right arm and hand following the incident at the company’s site in Hull. On 21 August 2017, a batch of hairspray was being mixed in a 10,000 litre stainless steel mixing vessel. As the worker was adding powders into the vessel using a metal scoop, flammable vapours ignited, briefly engulfing his upper torso. Robert McBride Ltd, which has since shut the Hull factory, pleaded guilty to a criminal breach of the Dangerous Substances and Explosive Atmospheres Regulations (DSEAR) 2002 and was fined £480,000 (AD$844,480) and ordered to pay costs of £13,441.80 (AD$25,400).
Read more: HSE news release Source: Risks 1040
