Recycling firm fined £30,000 following an explosion

A recycling company has been fined £30,000 and ordered to pay costs of £30,000 following an explosion and fire at their site in Surrey.  Eight people were injured as a result of the explosion, five seriously and a thirty-year-old worker was placed in an induced coma and remained in hospital for fifteen weeks.  An investigation found that the company had failed to ensure there was a safe system of work in place to reduce the risk of dangerous substances. The investigation also found that the company who designed the machinery which was used to in the recycling process, did not consider the likely misuse of the machine and that they had relied on generic data to determine whether an explosive atmosphere may arise.