Keep all corrosive substances locked away

Categories: General Health and Safety |


Keep all corrosive substances locked away Public sector organisations who deal with vulnerable service users have been warned to keep all corrosive chemicals and substances locked away, after a man with learning difficulties died from drinking dishwasher fluid.

The man, along with five other service users, had been on a council-organised trip to a further education college when they accidently drank the corrosive substance, which had been mixed up with a similar-looking bottle of orange squash.

Although the beverage had been prepared at a day centre, nobody had realised it contained dishwasher fluid until the six adults started vomiting blood and fitting.

As a result of the death of one man and the severe internal burns to other members of the group, a county council was fined.

HSE inspector Andrew Cousins commented: "This is one of the worst incidents I have investigated in all my time as a health and safety inspector - it is impossible to adequately imagine the suffering and terror that the victims must have felt as this tragedy unfolded.

"The terrible thing is that this incident and its horrific consequences could so easily have been prevented by simply locking away the container of sodium hydroxide," he added.

Safety signs in kitchens and places where food and drink is prepared could prevent similar incidents happening in future.
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