Wakefield firm fined £200K after worker left in coma from gas exposure
A Wakefield tanker manufacturing company has been fined £200,000 after a worker collapsed from gas exposure before the same fate befell a colleague who went to check on him.
The incident took place on March 18 2020 when a worker for Tasca Tankers, based at Unit 5, Diamond Business Park on Thornes Moor Road, was found slumped at the bottom of a metal tank he had entered to carry out some welding work.
He was found a few minutes later by a colleague who shouted for help before entering the tank and also collapsing. Both were rescued by emergency services.
An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found the company had failed to ensure safety of their employees while working in the tanks, classified as a confined space.
When inside the tank, the employees suffered asphyxiation resulting from inhalation of argon gas leaking from the welding torch, which resulted in a hypoxic brain injury that left the first worker in a coma for more than 12 days and on waking, suffered memory loss and the inability to walk and talk.
Both workers continue to suffer long lasting physical and psychological effects.
At Leeds Magistrates’ Court on December 1, Tasca Tankers pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2 (1) of the Health & Safety at Work etc Act 1974.
The company was fined £200,000 and ordered to pay £ £7,060.10 in costs.
After the hearing, HSE inspector Louise Redgrove, said: “Two employees very nearly died in an incident which was foreseeable.
“The company had previously received related enforcement action and yet still failed to identify work was taking place inside confined spaces.
"This incident could so easily have been avoided if the company had ensured robust controls, effective training and emergency procedures were in place and current.”
* Tasca Tankers have been contacted for comment.