03 September 2008
Jocelyn Dorrell

BAE Systems Land Systems (Munitions and Ordnance) must pay £65,000 in fines and costs after a 21-year-old agency worker was badly burned at its site in Glascoed in Monmouthshire.

The company, which manufactures ammunition and weapon systems, must also pay £5000 in compensation to Ryan White.

The accident happened in August 2004 as White was destroying pyrotechnic composition - combustible combinations of chemicals used in aerospace to generate gas in airbags or for charges in explosive bolts. The material ignited, leaving him with severe burns to his face, neck and arms.

HSE investigators discovered that the disposal procedures used at the time of the incident didn't comply with BAE's own approved procedures. Management and supervision were inadequate, and the composition of the material did not meet the company-approved specification.

Investigating HSE inspector David Norman said the materials involved were very sensitive.

"The risk assessment conducted by the company had identified that the composition should have been desensitised prior to burning and that the maximum quantity to be burnt at any one time should be limited.

"The investigation found that the composition was burnt dry in a quantity far greater than that allowed by the procedure.

"Training consisted of shadowing a senior operative and reading the procedures [but] no one in the management chain ensured that this company policy was followed."

Norman added that while the risk assessment "appeared to be robust on paper", ineffective control measures led to poor communication and misunderstanding in the disposal area.

Cardiff Crown Court fined the company £50,000 with £15,000 costs for failing to take reasonable steps to ensure the safety of employees and others, contrary to Sections 2(1) and 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act.

Categories: Chemicals, Chemicals (and COSHH), Risk assessment, Risk assessment, Chemicals (and COSHH), Enforcement (prosecutions), Enforcement (prosecutions), Manufacturing / engineering, Prosecutions



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