AFC Hitech Ltd has been fined £120,000 after an employee sustained severe burns at a factory in Bromborough, Wirral.
 
There was a chemical explosion at the factory on 28th February 2012 which left the employee with burns to his face, right arm and upper body. The company had been manufacturing a chemical called trimethylindium and the waste from the purification process had been left on a bench to deactivate in an unsealed glass bottle, despite being explosive if it is exposed to air or water. The glass bottle exploded and the employee was engulfed in a fireball.
 
On 29th April 2013 at Liverpool Crown Court, SAFC Hitech Ltd pleaded guilty to single breaches of the Dangerous Substances and Explosive atmospheres Regulations 2002 and the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974. The company had failed to carry out suitable risk assessment for dealing with the waste produced by the trimethylindium process and failed to ensure the safety of the employees.
 
For further information please click on the following link:
 
http://www.hse.giv.uk/press/2013/rnn-nw-safc-hitech-ltd.htm