A manufacturing company had been fined £120,000 after an explosion saw equipment launched through the roof of the building.
Catalloy Ltd, based in Widnes, on Moss Bank Road, received the fine for breaching health and safety laws after the incident saw machinery being ‘ejected’ from the site, back in 2015.
An investigation into the explosion by Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that air had been drawn into a reactor and mixed with Hydrogen causing a build-up of pressure and leading it to ‘burst open’.
And in turn this led to both the reactor and a motor situated on top of it to be ejected through the roof of the premises.
Nobody was injured as a result of the incident, but the investigation also found that a residual product had been left in the reactor - which can ignite when exposed to air.
Liverpool Crown Court heard on Monday, September 12 that Catalloy had pleaded guilty to a breach of the Health and Safety at Work Act.
The manufacturers of metal catalysts not only received the steep fine but were also ordered to pay costs of £50,000.
And this is not the first time the company has been fined for health and safety breaches, with Catalloy receiving an £80,000 fine back in 2011 for a similar incident involving a hydrogen explosion, with one person left injured.
HSE inspector Sean Bembridge said: “This incident could so easily have been avoided by implementing appropriate control measures and safe working practices. “At all times during the activation process, a material risk to health and safety existed.
“The defendant had a duty to take measures to ensure that this risk was reduced to the lowest reasonably practicable level.”
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