Grupo Antolin fined after worker burned by caustic soda

The operative required skin grafts to his stomach as a result of the incident at Grupo Antolin Leamington Limited, at Tachbrook Park, near Leamington Spa, in January last year. Nuneaton Magistrates heard that the man was working on a spray line as part of a process for manufacturing car headliners. The headliners, which form part of a car's roof interior, are made up of a number of layered components glued together to form a 'sandwich'. Adhesive is applied onto the individual layers as they pass through a sprayer machine on a conveyor. The machine includes a reservoir containing a solution of caustic soda, also known as sodium hydroxide, which is used to soften the adhesive that builds up on the conveyor, allowing it to be scraped off more easily. The operative's job required him to remove the components from the conveyor as they left the spray machine. However, the size and shape of the headliners meant that he and others had to lean over the conveyor to lift them off the line and then support them on their abdomen to transport them to the next part of the process. It was during this process the victim's stomach came into contact with the caustic soda. An HSE investigation found that the company had not put controls in place to prevent staff from coming into contact with the caustic soda. Although the worker had been given personal protective equipment, it was not suitable as it was only a disposable plastic apron rather than one designed to be used with chemicals. Grupo Antolin Leamington has since installed barriers on the machine to prevent staff leaning over and coming into contact with the chemical and now also provides operators on that spray line with chemical resistant aprons.