Printing company being fined for health and safety issues
A Waltham Forest printing company sees fines for safety issues. Two workers were burned when a flash fire started. It was started because of vapours from harmful cleaning chemicals. The print room suddenly caught on fire when the fluid ignited. Two workers suffered burns while one suffered breaks to both legs as he tried to get away from the fire. One described the incident as though a flame thrower had suddenly come from the top of the printing press. Health and safety audits examined the incident to determine where the root of the cause was and whether the company needed to be brought up on charges. After the audits of the workstation, it was found there were health and safety at work breaches.
The incident occurred in 2011 wherein it was found the company ignored proper guidelines in terms of manufacturer specifications. It led to the danger of fire and explosion. The cleaning agent caught fire when it was below 55°C. The two men were using the solvent to hand clean “blankets” on the printing press. It was a regular task as it was the best way to get the build-up of ink removed; however, the solvent has a flashpoint of 20°C and this is why it ignited. Fellow workers helped to put the fire out and one employee was in the hospital for 15 days and off work for four months. Proper safety and health would have prevented the issue and the £12,000 fine could have been avoided.
