October 9th, 2009
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has fined and prosecuted a company that admitted exposing its workers to hazardous fumes from soldering equipment.
Employees at Turbo Power Systems’ plant in Gateshead had been working for up to five-and-a-half hours a day with rosin solder flux, the fumes of which are known to cause asthma.
The exposure occurred between May 2007 and May 2008 and many employees began to suffer problems with their respiratory health.
As a result, the HSE took the company to court for breaches of the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002. It was fined £3,000 and ordered to pay costs after admitting to safety failures.
HSE inspector Andrea Robbins said it had been "entirely foreseeable" that inappropriate risk assessment and control of chemicals would put the workforce at risk.
Rosin is a natural product which comes from pine sap. Fumes from rosin solder flux are a well-known cause of occupational asthma.
Tags: Andrea Robbins, Asthma, Breaches, Chemicals, Control Of Substances Hazardous To Health, Half Hours, Hazardous Fumes, Health And Safety, Health And Safety Executive, Health Regulations, Hse, Occupational Asthma, Respiratory Health, Risk Assessment, Safety Failures, Sap, Soldering Equipment, Turbo Power, Workforce
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April 20th, 2009
The Ministry of Defence (MoD) is facing legal action again after the families of ten servicemen killed in Iraq announced that they would be suing the government department.
They claim that the MoD failed to protect the human rights of the nine soldiers and one RAF man who died in January 2005 when their Hercules was shot down by enemy fire.
A coroner ruled that the MoD’s decision not to fit the aircraft’s fuel tanks with explosive-suppressant foam could have cost the men their lives.
The government department is now facing legal action for negligence, breach of a duty of care and failing to comply with article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights.
An Mod spokesperson said it has apologised for the safety failures highlighted at the inquest.
The news follows an admission of liability last month by the MoD for 14 deaths in Afghanistan three years ago.
Family members of the 14 men are to receive compensation which may amount to six figures.
Tags: Admission, Breach, Compensation Claim, Coroner, Duty Of Care, Enemy Fire, European Convention On Human Rights, Family Members, Fuel Tanks, Government Department, Hercules, Inquest, Ministry Of Defence, Negligence, Raf, Safety Failures, Servicemen Killed In Iraq, Six Figures, Spokesperson, Suing The Government
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