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The incident at Tata Steel's Scunthorpe Steelworks, on Brigg Road, Scunthorpe, saw flames up to three metres in length shoot from a leaking gas pipe.
Work to repair a small hole in the pipe using a bung and resin was initially postponed until the following day, but that technique then had to be abandoned when it widened to a "fist-sized" defect.
An alternative repair was then suggested, using a fabricated metal plate that would be drilled into place and then sealed.
But as a Tata employee attempted to put the first screw in place, the live gas in the pipe ignited sending a jet of flames shooting from the hole.
The workers were just inches from the blast in the basket of a mobile working platform, and one individual suffered minor burns.
Tata Steel UK Limited, registered to Millbank, London, pleaded guilty to two separate breaches of the Dangerous Substances and Explosive Atmospheres Regulations 2002 and was fined a total of £30,000 plus £1,696.
HSE inspector John Moran said this was "a serious incident" and "a very near miss for those involved".
"Thankfully on this occasion a full recovery from the injuries sustained was possible, but it could easily have resulted in a double fatality," he stated.
"This poorly managed repair was gambling with people's lives by putting them in positions of extreme risk."
Quantum Risk Management is a leading Health and Safety consultant
Gas pipe repair 'could have ended with fatalities'
Two workers narrowly avoided serious injury or death during poorly planned and executed repair work.The incident at Tata Steel's Scunthorpe Steelworks, on Brigg Road, Scunthorpe, saw flames up to three metres in length shoot from a leaking gas pipe.
Work to repair a small hole in the pipe using a bung and resin was initially postponed until the following day, but that technique then had to be abandoned when it widened to a "fist-sized" defect.
An alternative repair was then suggested, using a fabricated metal plate that would be drilled into place and then sealed.
But as a Tata employee attempted to put the first screw in place, the live gas in the pipe ignited sending a jet of flames shooting from the hole.
The workers were just inches from the blast in the basket of a mobile working platform, and one individual suffered minor burns.
Tata Steel UK Limited, registered to Millbank, London, pleaded guilty to two separate breaches of the Dangerous Substances and Explosive Atmospheres Regulations 2002 and was fined a total of £30,000 plus £1,696.
HSE inspector John Moran said this was "a serious incident" and "a very near miss for those involved".
"Thankfully on this occasion a full recovery from the injuries sustained was possible, but it could easily have resulted in a double fatality," he stated.
"This poorly managed repair was gambling with people's lives by putting them in positions of extreme risk."
Quantum Risk Management is a leading Health and Safety consultant
Posted on 27/01/2012
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0845 6780076
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