Twin Glaze Pty Ltd, a company that install double glazed windows, has been fined $5,000 after their failure to ensure that persons other than employees are not exposed to health and safety risks resulted in a client’s grandchild being exposed to dangerous chemicals.
Four Twin Glaze employees were installing double glazing at a client’s residence in March 2023, which involved the use of an industrial solvent to clean the inside of the windows during the installation process. A worker had decanted the clear liquid chemical into a branded water bottle. There were no markings or labels on the bottle other than the original branding. After the workers finished the window installation, the left the bottle of solvent behind on a side cabinet.
The client’s family members arrived shortly after and his 3-year-old grandchild saw the unlabelled bottle, picked it up and drank from it. After the child screamed and spat the solvent out, her mother took her to hospital where no injuries were noted, and she was discharged later the same day. The child reported a sore throat and a funny feeling tummy.
Following the incident Twin Glaze replaced the defective spray bottles as an interim measure, before eliminating the use of the solvent by replacing the spray bottle procedure with wipes that achieve the same result.
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