Steel giant Tata has been sentenced following an incident in which three of its employees suffered severe burns.
Kelvin Watts, a trainee crane driver from Port Talbot, and two of his colleagues escaped over a crane when a giant ladle dislodged at Tata Strip Products in Port Talbot, spilling the molten metal onto the factory floor, Swansea Crown Court heard last Monday (16th February).
50-year-old Mr Watts was operating an electric overhead crane at the time of the incident, which took place in April 2013. He was being supervised by an experienced trainer at the time and there was also another trainer present when the incident happened.
Using the crane, Mr Watts had picked up a full 300 tonne ladle of molten metal and had enquired about whether one of the hooks was correctly on the ladle, because the crane’s camera system was not working at the time.
When he was informed by the plant control room that the hook indeed was not fully attached, he brought the crane to a halt and put it into reverse. However, the ladle dislodged, and the load spilled onto the floor. Seconds later, a fire broke out at the factory, reaching the cab of the crane. The three men suffered burns as they frantically tried to escape to safety.
Mr Watts suffered burns to his head and forearms and needed to spend several days in hospital. He has since suffered a number of infections in the burns and been unable to return to work.
The burns suffered by Mr Watts’ colleagues, also from Port Talbot, were less severe. Although they are now back working for Tata, neither of them can face driving the cranes nor going into the area where the incident took place.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) launched an investigation into the incident, prosecuting Tata Steel for failing to take adequate steps to ensure the safety of its workforce. The court heard how the crane’s camera system had not been working properly for some time and although it had been reported on numerous occasions was still not fixed. During the incident the factory lighting, which workers described as being poor, cut out completely as did the control systems.
Since the incident the firm has installed a new camera system and improved lighting and managers now scrutinise all pre-use checks. Should the camera system fail, spotters are put in place to make sure that crane hooks are correctly latched onto ladle handles.
Tata Steel was fined £200,000 and needed to pay costs of £11,190 after it pleaded guilty to breaching the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974.