University of Northumbria fined after botched experiment
The University of Northumbria at Newcastle has been fined after two students fell seriously ill following a laboratory experiment.
It was found that protocols for the experiment were not followed. Students were learning about the effects of caffeine as part of a sports experiment. Part of the course included a practical exercise where volunteer students would take quantities of caffeine to demonstrate the impact.
Two students drank a solution with 100 times the prescribed amount. They immediately fell ill and suffered from shaking, rapid heartbeat and vomiting. The doctor considered their conditions life threatening and dialysis was required.
The protocols were to use 200mg tablets but as they were not available the students were provided with caffeine in a powered form. This created a situation where the students miscalculated the amount of powder to use and overdosed the two volunteers.
Breach
The University of Northumbria pleaded guilty to breaching Section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. Section 3(1) states that every employer must conduct his undertaking in such a way as to ensure that persons not in his employment who may be affected thereby are not exposed to risks to their health or safety.
Penalty
The University of Northumbria was fined £400,000 and ordered to pay costs of £26,468.22.
Warburtons fined £2million after worker fall
A father-of-one was hospitalised with a compression fracture in his spine. He was not able to return to work until December 2014 but was unable to continue in his old role and was dismissed in December 2015 after another long period of sick leave.
Warburtons Limited routinely expected their workers to access the top of the mixers to clean them. The workers were often unbalanced and would brace themselves to stop from falling. The workers were not adequately supervised and there had been no training on how the mixer needed to be cleaned at height. The company failed to control the risk of falls from height when carrying out this routine cleaning activity.
Breach
Warburtons Ltd pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 6(3) of the Work at Height Regulation 2005. This paragraph states where work is carried out at height, every employer shall take suitable and sufficient measures to prevent, so far as is reasonably practicable, any person falling a distance liable to cause personal injury.
Penalty
Warburtons Ltd were fined £2million and ordered to pay costs of £19,609.28.
Worker exposed to high level of carbon monoxide
Workers from Westlands Construction Ltd were using a petrol powered saw to cut out an existing concrete floor at a fish factory in Hull. The workers were inside the area working over a weekend, the space was not ventilated and there was a build-up of carbon monoxide, which lead to one worker being hospitalized.
The HSE found that the company had not thought about the potential dangers an un-ventilated tent would cause. The company should have used a system of dust suppression and local exhaust ventilation together with appropriate respiratory protective equipment to prevent or reduce exposure to harmful dust.
Breach
Westlands Construction Ltd pleaded guilty to breaching Section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. Section 3(1) states that every employer must conduct his undertaking in such a way as to ensure that persons not in his employment who may be affected thereby are not exposed to risks to their health or safety.
Penalty
Westlands Construction Ltd was fined £16,000 with £847.30 costs by Hull Magistrates Court.
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