A tyre manufacturer has been fined £150,000 after one of its employees died when he was trapped for more than two hours in an industrial autoclave.
48-year-old George Falder was found dead at Pirelli Tyres’ Carlisle factory in September 2012 in a five-metre long machine used to heat tyre parts to heat of up to 145 degrees Celsius.
The firm was prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) after an investigation revealed that the company did not have a sufficient system in place to ensure that the autoclave was checked thoroughly before being switched on.
Carlisle Crown Court heard today (1st May) that Mr Falder had last been seen alive on CCTV footage at approximately 2.45pm during his Sunday shift, however just one hour later a colleague had shut the door on the industrial autoclave and started the operating cycle. His body was tragically found inside the machine just after 6pm.
The court heard that the autoclave’s heavy, circular pressure-door couldn’t be opened from the inside. There was no way that anyone inside the machine could stop the cycle once it had begun, and when the machine was in operation, steam was piped into the vessel under pressure, generating a deadly atmosphere with little or no oxygen.
The HSE’s investigation determined that Pirelli had failed in its duty to recognise the risks posed by the autoclave with no measures in place, such as instructions or signs, to prevent access to it. There had been no appropriate systems in place to check the autoclave prior to the door being shut and the operating cycle beginning.
Pirelli Tyres Ltd pleaded guilty to breaching the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974.and was fined £150,000 along with costs of £46,706 for the incident.
HSE inspector Michael Griffiths said after the hearing: “George Falder’s tragic death has had a devastating impact on his family and friends.
“His colleague had no way of knowing anyone was inside when he switched on the machine because the company did not have systems in place to stop this from happening.
“Pirelli failed to identify the risk posed by workers entering the autoclave. They should either have prevented access, or made sure that the autoclave was properly checked each time before the door was closed and the operating cycle started.
“If either of these policies had been implemented then Mr Falder’s death might have been avoided.”