Businessman fined over safety breach after fatal explosion

A Cork businessman was fined €25,000 today for health and safety breaches after one of his employees was killed when a petrol tanker exploded.

The 23-year-old was carrying out repairs on the empty tank when the blast occurred in September 2003.

Robert Fitzgerald, from Aghada, Midleton pleaded guilty to failing to ensure the tank was cleaned thoroughly and ensuring a safe working environment before the employee began the work.

He was fined €25,000 at Cork Circuit Court.

Following inspections the Health and Safety Authority (HSA) found work practices at the premises were deficient in several respects.

The HSA noted the tank had contained petrol as its last cargo but warned that before work could be carried out on the inside of such a tank, appropriate cleaning and gas-freeing – to remove a potentially explosive atmosphere – should take place.

The authority revealed a device used to generate the steam to clean the tank using the recommended methods was unsuitable.

A report showed the small portable hot water washer was unsuitable as it was incapable of producing the quantity of steam required.

And it found a gas analyser or detection meter was not used to test the atmosphere inside the tank following cleaning.

The safety statement for the premises referred to the use of “gas free certificates” and “permits to work” but no such system was put into place.

The Health and Safety Authority said the culture of risk taking in firms around the country had to be rooted out.

Mark Rowlands, HSA inspector, said the authority was determined to ensure employers of every size from large companies to sole traders maintained the highest safety standards in the workplace.

“Employers should make sure that proper controls have been put in place to minimise risks to staff health and safety. We are particularly concerned with the tendency of small businesses to take risks with health and safety,” he said.

“The message needs to go out that the cost of not putting safety measures in place can be far greater than the cost of addressing those safety issues head-on.”

Robert Fitzgerald, Aghada, Midleton, who operates his business in Midleton had pleaded guilty to one count taken under the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work (Confined Spaces) Regulations 2001.

Mr Fitzgerald admitting failure to provide a safe system of work for the entry of persons into confined space.