13.12.17
London trust fined after worker is killed by liquid nitrogen
The death of a worker who was asphyxiated by liquid nitrogen in London in 2011 could have been prevented, says the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).
Chelsea and Westminster Hospitals NHS FT and Imperial College London have been hit with fines after an investigation found that appropriate ventilation systems were not switched on.
Southwark Crown Court heard that Damian Bowen was freezing blood samples on behalf of the college at a HIV laboratory it rented from the trust.
Imperial College was fined £70,000 while Chelsea and Westminster’s fine was £80,000 – both were ordered to pay around £23,000 in costs.
Bowen had stayed late at work and was decanting the liquid nitrogen needed to freeze blood samples but the HSE investigation found that the local exhaust ventilation provided to extract dangerous substances was switched off.
HSE inspector Anne Gloor explained: “Liquid nitrogen, rapidly expands as a gas, replacing the oxygen in a room and creating a situation where life cannot be sustained.
“Mr Bowen was working alone with liquid nitrogen in a small room without any extraction. If the extraction system had been switched on, Mr Bowen would not have died.
“There should have been a system in place to prevent the extraction being switched off, a proper system of maintaining the equipment and clear arrangements for preventing lone working with liquid nitrogen.”
Bowen had been working for the trust on behalf of Imperial College, which undertook work for the International Aids Vaccine Institute in the rooms it occupied in the same laboratory suite.
A spokesperson for Imperial College London apologised for the incident and said that the college had updated its policies to stop something like this happening again.
“We would like to offer our sincere condolences to Mr Bowen’s family and friends following this tragedy,” they said. “Imperial takes the safety of its community and those who work closely with it extremely seriously.
“Although the court did not suggest that the college had caused Mr Bowen’s death, the college has taken a number of actions following October 2011. In particular we have updated and revised related policies and procedures and developed strengthened management arrangements for buildings shared with the Trust.”
A Chelsea and Westminster Hospitals Trust spokesperson said: “Our sincerest thoughts and sympathies are with the family and friends of Mr Damian Bowen.
"The trust has reviewed its systems to ensure that robust and rigorous policies and procedures have been put in place to avoid this situation from ever happening again.”
Top image: Dominic Lipinski and PA Wire
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