Business hit with £700,000 fine and £169,498 costs after fatal accident
A listed Sheffield-based specialist engineering group has been fined £700,000 following a fatal accident at the premises of one of its subsidiaries.
On 26 November 2019, Pressure Technologies announced that its subsidiary, Chesterfield Special Cylinders, had been found guilty of a charge brought by the Health & Safety Executive under Section 2 of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 following the fatality in June 2015.
The sentencing hearing was held today at Sheffield Crown Court, during which a fine of £700,000 was determined and prosecution costs of £169,498.82 were set.
A 64-year-old worker was fatally wounded by shrapnel ejected from testing equipment. Sheffield Crown Court heard that on 10 June 2015, John Townsend was leak testing eight 1,500 litre cylinders, by applying compressed air inside to create pressure, at the company’s Sheffield site.
While in the process of venting the air through the test manifold, it catastrophically failed and fatally injured Mr Townsend.
An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that prior to installing the fittings, 1.5 litres of a mineral oil-based corrosion inhibitor had been placed into each of the cylinders. The incident occurred because the inhibitor contaminated the leak test manifold during venting of cylinders and was subjected to enough pressure inside the manifold to ignite and cause the test equipment to fail.
After the hearing, HSE inspector Eddy Tarn said: “This was a tragic and wholly avoidable incident, caused by the failure of the company to identify any additional risks that arise when work processes are adapted.
“Companies should accurately identify and control all potential hazards in the workplace and thereafter monitor performance through effective supervision.”
The company has been given by the court a period over which to pay the combined fine and costs, which it will do from operational cash flows. The first instalment of £214,879 will be made in April 2020 and six instalments of £109,103 will be made six-monthly from July 2020, with the final payment falling due in January 2023.
Chris Walters, chief executive of Pressure Technologies, said: “Chesterfield Special Cylinders and Pressure Technologies Group respect the decision of the jury and the sentencing that has been determined today.
“We deeply regret the events that resulted in the death of our colleague and long standing employee John Townsend, which has left a terrible gap in the lives of his family, friends and colleagues, with whom our deepest sympathies remain.
“The Pressure Technologies Group operates in safety critical industries. We are committed to achieving the highest safety standards and the judge has today remarked upon the company’s decent safety record and attitude.
“This tragic incident occurred in June 2015 and in the period since then we have made significant changes and improvements to the way we operate at the Chesterfield Special Cylinders site and across all Group sites as we continually strive to improve the safety of our operations and our employees.”
