Re: Draining fuel tanks Archived Message
Posted by Rob Drinkwater on November 11, 2005, 11:27 pm, in reply to "Re: Draining fuel tanks" |
One of our customer, is currently in prison for manslaughter, following a workshop accident last year. His apprentice died of his injuries a few days after the incident following draining fuel from a tank. An extract from the report is below. Garage Fuel Explosion The owners of a garage have been prosecuted following an explosion. The father and son owned Anchor Garage at Peacehaven, Sussex. Teenage apprentice mechanic Lewis Murphy helped one owner handling fuel in February 2004
A petrol and diesel mixture was moved from dustbin to waste oil tank
Vapours were sucked into a gas boiler flue
The ignited vapour exploded
The teenage worker was horrifically burnt and died four days later
No procedures were in place for fuel handling
The garage was not registered with the HSE
The owners said that they relied on common sense to ensure safety
Unfortunately common sense is often not in common supply
The owners were prosecuted for gross negligence at Lewis Crown Court in April this year
Glen Hawkins (son) was jailed for nine months
Howard Hawkins (father) was fined £10,000 plus £15,000 costs. Imprisonment for failure in health and safety is rare and this is only the fifteenth case that we are aware of. It does show, however, that gross failure will lead to jail. There is also additional information at this address:- http://www.freesafetycheck.co.uk/March05-04.html I think this is a stark warning for all garages to equip themselves with the correct gear for this type of work. Regards Rob.
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Link: http://www.freesafetycheck.co.uk/March05-04.html
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