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Accident at work causes man death

A farm manager died when he tried to rescue one of his staff who had entered a slurry tank to adjust a pump float switch. The tank has recently been installed and an employee of the tank installer was also involved in adjusting the pump float at the time of the incident.

Accident on farm

The accident happened in June 2005 and a joint investigation was undertaken by HSE and Thames Valley Police. It found that none of the farm staff understood the dangers from entering confined spaces. Many farm staff had entered other slurry tanks on a number of occasions.

The case was heard in March 2007 at Oxford Crown Court and the farmer pleaded guilty to failing to comply with Section 2 of the Health and Safety at Work Act. The farmer was then fined. The employer of the tank installer was found not guilty of manslaughter.

This highlights the need for farmers to identify areas of risk and ensure that nobody enters them, other than in exceptional circumstances when the full requirements of the Confined Spaces Regulations are implemented. Anyone who does enter a confined space must be fully trained and equipped.

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