A company which produces electricity from food waste by anaerobic digestion, has been fined more than £300,000 after an explosion caused two employees to suffer life changing injuries.
The metal tank the two men were working on was projected high into the air before crashing to the ground nine seconds later.
Footage of the blast has been released.
On 20 September 2017, two employees of Bio Dynamic (UK) Limited were using a grinder to cut and replace pipework at the top of an 11-metre high metal tank containing waste slurry. They were not using harnesses. Sparks from the grinder ignited flammable gasses causing the tank to explode.
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A joint investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and the Environment Agency found that the company had failed to ensure the health and safety of its employees and others nearby. The company had kept and treated waste in a manner likely to cause pollution to the environment. The explosion was caused by multiple failures in the company’s management system and exacerbated by multiple breaches of the company’s environmental permit.