Flammable goods 'should be approached with caution'

Categories: General Health and Safety |


Flammable goods 'should be approached with caution' The importance of using equipment around flammable goods has been highlighted with the death of a garage worker who passed away after being hit by an exploding metal oil drum.

Health and Safety Executive (HSE) officials found that the 23-year-old employee had been using a plasma cutter to remove the lid from the barrel when the blade generated sparks.

This ignited the flammable vapours inside the drum, causing it to explode and resulting in the worker being struck on the head, giving him fatal injuries.

Inspectors found the garage had not set out a safe method of work for the employee, while the cutting operation was not supported by a full risk assessment.

HSE inspector Joanne Nicholls commented: "Drums that have contained flammable material and seem to be empty often still have residues in them. Just a teaspoon of petrol can be enough to cause an explosion.

"This incident was entirely foreseeable, and could and should have been avoided," she added.

Correct workwear could prevent similar accidents happening in other workplaces.
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