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Redhall Engineering Services Ltd of Winestead Lane, Hull, has been fined £14,000 with £2,687 in costs after pleading guilty to breaching Section 2 (1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974.
Beverley Magistrates’ Court heard how a worker was asked to dispose of around eight of nine gas cylinders, believed to contain oxygen, at the company's site in Hull on 06 January last year.
The employee laid the cylinders outside in the yard with the pressure release valves open to try and empty out any gas that remained inside. Later, the employee began to remove the pressure release valves from the tops of the cylinders.
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On the last cylinder, it became apparent that the valve was stuck and could not be removed. Another employee of the company came to help and they attempted to dislodge and remove the valve using a hammer. During this attempt the cylinder and valve separated violently as gas which remained in the cylinder was released. The cylinder fired into the workshop and struck two employees who were standing inside.
Both workers suffered serious injuries to their lower limbs, one sustaining a broken tibia and fibular to both legs, and the other a broken tibia and fibular to his left leg and extensive nerve and tissue damage. The employees required multiple surgeries and spent several weeks in hospital, with one of them still unable to return to work.
A Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigation found that, at the time of the incident, there was no safe system of work in place for the decommissioning and disposal of old gas cylinders. In addition, the company had not carried out a suitable risk assessment to identify the associated risks.
Speaking after the hearing, HSE inspector James Harvey said: "This case highlights the serious risks posed by gas cylinders and how the correct disposal as well as cylinder handling and storage is fundamental to ensuring safety."
(LM/MH)
