Ineos fined £430,000 after worker badly burned in accident

Petrochemical giant Ineos has been fined £430,000 after a worker was submerged to the top of his thigh in a sump full of caustic soda.

The 47-year-old victim, who was not named in court, suffered chemical burns and permanent scarring and was left in pain for several weeks.

The incident happened at the firm's KG Plant in Grangemouth in November 2019.

Ineos admitted exposing the worker to a risk to his health and safety resulting in his serious injury.

Falkirk Sheriff Court was told the technician went to put a hose into the sump in order to empty it with a temporary pump.

The permanent pump, usually activated by pressing a button from a safe distance behind a yellow warning line, had broken down.

But the man trod on a grating which was improperly seated and gave way, submerging him in the sodium hydroxide solution and saturating his right leg to the top of his thigh.

He was able to pull himself out of the two-metre deep sump and seek assistance.

The man was treated on site to neutralise the alkali before being taken to Forth Valley Royal Hospital and transferred to the burns unit of St John's Hospital, Livingston.

Prosecutor Saud Ul-Hassan said the case had only now come to court because of Covid backlog delays.

He said that prior to the incident it was commonly thought that the majority of the contents of the sump were rainwater.

However, he said Ineos should have carried out a risk assessment prior to using a temporary ejector pump and instructions should have been issued to employees.

Solicitor Paul Marshall, defending, said Ineos "regrets the incident and the impact on its employee".

He said it was "some consolation" the man was able to return to work within a month, and still works for Ineos.

The company was given six months to pay the fine.

HSE inspector Lindsey Stein said: "The duties on employers to undertake a suitable and sufficient assessment of risks and to provide a safe system of work are absolute within health and safety legislation and well understood.

"The dangerous properties of caustic are widely known and this incident could so easily have been avoided with the implementation of straightforward control measures identified through assessment."