Euticals Ltd fined due to health and safety audit results
Euticals Ltd, previously Archimica Ltd, was fined for safety and health failings at the Deeside chemical location. During 2008 and 2010, the HSE visited the factory to conduct health and safety audits. The company failed each time to demonstrate any understanding of health and safety training including risk assessments and management to reduce major injuries and incidents. Employees and the public were at risk at the company due to these obvious failings and disregard to fix the problems. Euticals was fined 100,000 pounds. The company was also asked to pay about 10,000 pounds for court costs.
If adequate changes had been made after any one of the visits between 2008 and 2010, the company would have avoided the court prosecution and fine. HSE inspectors not only provided the notices of safety and health failings, but also offered advice in how to make the necessary changes. The company was given plenty of time to comply with the improvement notices. The company chose not to address these HSE concerns despite dealing with dangerous chemicals each day.
There was a legal responsibility to the employees and nearby public to ensure the chemicals were treated as dangerous and hazardous. If an incident occurred, employees could have died along with any members of the public within a certain radius of the chemical company. The prosecution and fine is an example to other companies of similar industries that improper safety and health will not be tolerated on any level.
