HAZARDOUS SUBSTANCES - 01.02.2024

Refurbishment firm fined for failing to protect its workers

The inspector calls

In March 2022 the HSE visited Maxpowder Ltd (M) as part of a series of proactive inspections focusing on the use of dichloromethane and hydrofluoric acid to strip paint from alloy wheels in industrial installations. The inspector found that M was exposing its employees to hazardous substances because adequate control measures were not in place. It had failed to provide adequate ventilation by means of local exhaust ventilation (LEV), personal protective equipment and information, instruction and training.

Multiple failings

Along with failure to protect against hazardous substances, other breaches of health and safety were identified which related to electrical safety and exposure to welding fume. When the company was re-visited the inspector found it had not complied with one of their improvement notices. It had installed LEV to control exposure to welding fume when it was not competent to do so and the LEV was found to not reliably and effectively control exposure of its employees to welding fume.

In court

In September 2023 M pleaded guilty to breaching s.2(1), 33(1)(g) and 33(1)(c) Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 . It was fined £80,000 with £8,080 costs.

Working with foreseeable risk

If you are working with chemicals that will create a reasonably foreseeable health risk to your staff, you must undertake risk assessments and provide controls to prevent or reduce exposure. This should form part of your overall health and safety management system. Tip. Consider using a cost-effective chemical management package to ensure that critical steps are not missed when managing the risk from using chemicals in your workplace (click here ). Although it is a small initial outlay, it could save your business thousands of pounds if you are prosecuted and can demonstrate that you have reasonably practicable controls in place.

What you need to do

Risk management is a step-by-step process for controlling health and safety risks caused by hazards in the workplace. M’s prosecution could have been avoided had it adopted a more proactive approach to the overall health and safety of its workplace. Along with undertaking COSHH risk assessments, the use of competent contractors to undertake essential works identified as a control measure, such as installation of LEV, is critical. Tip. Use our Contractor Appraisal Questionnaire to identify you have the right contractor for your needs (click here ).

Ongoing checks

Carrying out a risk assessment is just one part of the overall process used to control risks. Once controls are in place, they must be regularly checked to ensure that they are being used and are effective, e.g. regular inspection of LEV. Tip.  Use our Ventilation Checklist - Local Exhuast Extraction to evidence your inspections (click here ). Reassessment of the risk should be carried out on a periodic basis or in the event of changes taking place in the workplace which have the potential to create a different atmosphere.