Engineering company fined after fumes overcome worker in confined space

A heavy engineering company has been convicted and fined more than $26,000 in the SA Industrial Relations Court, following an incident in which a worker was overcome by fumes while working in a confined space.

DID Piling had earlier pleaded guilty to one count of breaching section 19(1) of the Occupational Health, Safety and Welfare Act 1986 in that it failed to provide an employee with adequate information, instruction, supervision and training. SafeWork SA prosecuted after investigating an incident in March 2009, at Lock 6 of the Murray River, near Murtho in the Riverland. The firm was preparing barges for use by a client; work which involved spraying a rust inhibitor inside the hull of the vessels. During this task, a male employee suffered ill-effects from exposure to the inhibitor fumes, causing him to briefly fall unconscious after experiencing giddiness, shortness of breath and skin irritation. He was conveyed to hospital, later discharged and returned to work after three weeks.

SafeWork SA’s investigation revealed that the employer mistakenly believed it was not obliged to train its employees about work in confined spaces, if someone experienced in such work was supervising. Further, it was found that information on the rust inhibitor was not conveyed to the employee, nor was he supplied with protective equipment such as a respirator. Industrial Magistrate Michael Ardlie said the risk to the employee was of being rendered unconscious, and suffering respiratory problems and lung function complications. He noted that while there were safety systems in place prior to the incident, these were not adequate enough. He fined the company $26,250 plus costs after a discount of 25% to acknowledge its guilty plea, cooperation, contrition and remedial measures.

SafeWork SA says work in confined spaces can be potentially fatal, and the utmost attention to safety is required when such work is carried out. “Near enough is never good enough as this case has shown,” says Acting Executive Director Bryan Russell. “Plenty of information is available on how to perform work in confined spaces safely as well as the potential dangers of substances that may be used in such work. This information always needs to be followed to the letter to ensure the job is completed without mishap.”