News
Health & Safety Update (January 2010)
Firm pays out for occupational asthma
Employers are being warned about the importance of protecting
workers from occupational asthma. The warning comes after a firm
paid out over £26,000 to a member of staff developing asthma within
weeks of being exposed to soldering fumes at work.
Turbo Power Systems Ltd was fined £3,000 and ordered to pay
£3,000 in costs after it pleaded guilty to three breaches of health
and safety legislation. The firm also admitted liability and agreed
to pay the employee £20,000 compensation plus legal costs.
The employee started working for the company, which makes
electric generators and motors for the aerospace industry, in June
2007, where she spent up to six hours a day soldering. She worked
with rosin-based soldering wire, which is known to cause
occupational asthma, but was never given any training or warning
about the dangers. She was soldering in an enclosed space with
inadequate extraction and within a few weeks began to suffer from
difficulty with breathing. She was diagnosed with occupational
asthma which she has been told she will have to live with for the
rest of her life.
She was later made redundant and has since been unable to find
alternative employment.
The company has since introduced a range of improvements
including the use of a non-rosin based solder flux where possible,
provision of local extraction ventilation, and a programme of
health surveillance.
Guidance on Occupational Asthma is available from our advice
line or your dedicated Consultant.