Templetown Canopies fined £13,000 for a lack of adequate controls for styrene fumes.

Templetown Canopies Limited, a manufacturing company based in South Shields was fined £13,000 (inc.costs) for health and safety failures.  FFI is additional to this.

The circumstances were:

• The company used styrene in their production of fibre glass door and window canopies. 
• This substance is hazardous to health and exposure can cause irritation to the nose, throat and lungs.
• It can also have a neurological effect including difficulty in concentrating, drowsiness, headaches and nausea.
• The company should have had an extraction system to remove the fume and provide masks with the correct filters to prevent operators inhaling it.
• An inspection was carried out on 1 May 2013 and an improvement notice was served on 3 May 2013.
• The company did not take action to comply with the Improvement Notice until they moved premises in March 2015.
• Between May 2013 and February 2015, Templetown Canopies did not adequately control exposure of their employees to styrene. 

The HSE Inspector said: “ Workers’ health was put at risk from exposure to styrene for a period of 22 months, even after the company had been made aware of the actions it needed to take. Whilst HSE is sympathetic to the pressures faced by small businesses, this is simply not acceptable. Employers need to take action to ensure they are providing adequate control to protect the health of their employees.”