Exposure to fumes leads to $33k fine

Gunac Hawke's Bay Limited was fined $33,750 and ordered to pay $2500 in reparation

A "blase" Hawke's Bay company has been ordered to pay more than $33,000 after one of its employees was overcome by toxic fumes and found unresponsive at the bottom of a silo.

Waterproofing company Gunac Hawke's Bay Limited was fined $33,750 and ordered to pay $2500 in reparation after a worker was taken to hospital with carbon monoxide poisoning in April 2014.

The company pleaded guilty in the Hastings District Court yesterday for failing to take all practicable steps to ensure that its employee was not exposed to the hazard of working with solvents in a confined space.

The worker was applying a bitumen-based product, called Novaglass rapid primer, to the inside of a grain silo at an egg farm near Hastings.

He was wearing a respirator, but a solvent filter was not available and using a dust filter, he was dangerously exposed to the toxic solvent fumes.

After spending more than six hours working by himself, he was found unconscious and unresponsive on the bottom of the silo near the end of the work day.

He was taken to Hawke's Bay Hospital where doctors diagnosed him as suffering from the toxic effect of carbon monoxide and "other gases, fumes and vapours". He was discharged later that same day.

WorkSafe New Zealand's Chief Inspector Keith Stewart said working with toxic chemicals in a confined space was inherently risky.

"Gunac Hawke's Bay had not trained its employees in working in confined spaces and did not have an operating procedure for such work."

The company's director Bruce Meehan admitted in court that maybe he had "got blase about health and safety" because he had veteran staff and Gunac had a good health and safety record.

Mr Meehan declined to comment yesterday.