Yorkshire Water Services Ltd has been sentenced after one of their employees suffered fatal burns when his clothing was ignited by sparks.
On 20 July 2015, Michael Jennings, a fitter with the Yorkshire firm was working in the bottom of a dry well at the Trade Water treatment plant at the Tadcaster Sewage Treatment Works.
Mr. Jennings was working in a designated confined space on the end of the disused Lane 1 at the Sewage treatment works. The adjoining Lane 2 was still in service.
The brewery Trade Waste plant was the only Yorkshire Water Services effluent treatment plant to use oxygen gas injection to assist the clean-up process.
Mr. Jennings and a colleague had been tasked with changing the stop valve on the end of the disused Lane 1 drain pipe which formed into the bottom of the drywall. He was using an angle grinder to cut through the corroded bolts when sparks from the wheel hit his overalls, bursting into flames, he suffered full body burns and died in hospital two days later.
The investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that the drain valve was half opened and the atmosphere within the dry well was oxygen enriched which greatly increased the risk of fire.
They also found that a near miss report had been recorded in the same location during 2014. Employees had found the interior of Lane 1 to be heavily oxygen enriched and had alerted local managers to the problem.
Following the near miss, the company carried out an investigation but reached the wrong conclusion that the oxygen levels were due to residual oxygen and the issue had been resolved. This implicated future work and the company proceeded on the basis there was no further risk of oxygen enrichment.
The HSE investigation proved the company’s risk assessment and permit to work procedures were inadequate. There were no site-specific procedures in place and the generic risk assessment didn’t include oxygen enrichment.
Yorkshire Water Services Ltd pleaded guilty to breaching the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and was fined £733,000 and costs of £18,818.
Jeremy Sirrell a partner at Palmers and health and safety expert said: “This was a tragic and wholly avoidable incident, caused by the failure of the company to implement an adequate and effective safe system of work.
“Those in control have a duty to identify hazards which could arise and eliminate or mititgate them, and to devise safe systems of work. An adequate risk assessment could of prevented this situation.”
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