INEOS has been fined £400,000 after an employee was seriously injured while attempting to clear a sump that contained a caustic solution in 2019.
While in the sump area, the worker stepped onto the corner of the grating with his right leg. The grating however gave way, with the worker’s right leg falling into the sump and becoming saturated with the caustic solution. He was submerged in the solution for three seconds before pulling himself out of the sump and was later treated at a burns unit.
The man sustained permanent scarring to his right leg and was in pain for four weeks following the incident before returning to work in the December.
A HSE investigation into this incident found INEOS had failed to undertake a risk assessment of the work involved. There was also no safe system of work in place. The grating was not secured and there were no barriers in place to prevent a fall into the sump.
INEOS Chemicals Grangemouth Limited pleaded guilty to an offence under Section 2(1) and Section 33(1)(a) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. The company was fined £400,000 at Falkirk Sheriff Court on 8 March 2024.
HSE inspector Lindsey Stein said: “The duties on employers to undertake a suitable and sufficient assessment of risks and to provide a safe system of work are absolute within health and safety legislation and well understood. The dangerous properties of caustic are widely known and this incident could so easily have been avoided with the implementation of straightforward control measures identified through assessment.”
Every employer has a duty to manage the health and safety of those they employ or those who may be affected by their undertakings. Ensure risks are assessed, and take action where it has been identified that control measures are needed.
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