An anaerobic digestion company has been fined over £300,000 after an explosion caused two employees to suffer life-changing injuries.
The Nottingham-based company, Bio Dynamic (UK) Limited, produces electricity from food waste through anaerobic digestion.
On 20 September 2017, the two employees Tomasz Patek and Robert Tyrko were using a grinder to cut and replace pipework at the top of an 11-metre high metal tank containing waste slurry.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) said sparks from the grinder caused the tank to explode.
In the explosion, Tomasz Patek was thrown off the mobile elevating work platform (MEWP).
He suffered serious injuries to his back, head and torso which meant he was in hospital for two months and unable to work for more than two years.
Patek suffers from pre and post-traumatic amnesia and has no specific recollection of the events.
In a statement, he said: “After the accident, I was unable to recover emotionally. I did not realise what had happened and was in deep shock. I could not cope with the pain. I could not accept an accident had happened to me.”
Robert Tyrko was thrown into the air and landed in the basket of the MEWP. He sustained a fractured skull and his leg needed to be amputated. Tyrko remains wheelchair-bound.
In his statement, Tyrko said: “This whole situation is having a huge impact on my relationship. I can’t help my wife in anything like I used to be able to. Magda is both wife and husband because all my responsibilities fell on her; along with the kids.
“Also my personality is explosive. I lose my patience very quickly. I attended appointments with a psychologist because I had nightmares that I was still having this accident.”
Footage of the explosion has been released
A joint investigation by the HSE and the Environment Agency found that the company had failed to ensure the health and safety of its employees and others nearby, and the company had kept and treated waste in a manner likely to cause pollution to the environment.
The HSE said the explosion was caused by multiple failures in the company’s management system and exacerbated by multiple breaches of the company’s environmental permit.
At a hearing at Nottingham Crown Court, Bio Dynamic (UK) were fined a total of £304,500 and ordered to pay £229,988 in costs after pleading guilty to breaching the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and the Environmental Protection Act 1990.
After the hearing, HSE inspector Richenda Dixon said: “It’s remarkable that Robert and Tomasz weren’t killed.
“This incident resulted from fundamental and multiple failings by the company to properly manage its health and safety risks.
“These included failing to ensure that the design, installation and use of the tanks were safe; failing to carry out risk assessments; failing to put in place a safe system of work; and failing to train and supervise employees.”
