Oil refinery fined after driver suffers burns when loading tanker

An oil refinery operator has been fined £20,000 after a driver suffered serious burns after stepping into an open manway lid after loading a tanker with molten sulphur.

Tanker driver Jack Vickers had just finished loading the substance into the vehicle when the incident took place at Total Lindsey Oil Refinery in North Killingholme, North Lincolnshire on 18 October 2013. He had been attempting to detach the loading lance from a loading arm when his foot entered the open lid and into the tanker.

The 140 degree molten sulphur caused serious burns to his right leg. He was unable to work for three months and required extensive skin grafts.

Following the incident, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) served Total with a notice asking it to improve the safety of its loading systems. An articulated loading arm was installed onto the unit loading area, replacing the need for a loading lance.

At the time of the incident, Total had two other loading units on site that did not require the use of a loading lance.

On 12 June Grimsby Magistrates Court heard that Total had no effective system in place for attaching and detaching the loading lance. Working on top of the tanker had also not been adequately identified or assessed as a hazard.

Total Lindsey Oil Refinery admitted breaching the Health and Safety at Work Act and received a £20,000 fine with £2,641 in costs and a £120 victim surcharge.

HSE inspector Jayne Towey said the incident “could have been avoided if Total had identified the dangers associated with attaching and detaching the loading lance and taken action to reduce those risks”.