Pirelli fined for autoclave death

摘要

Pirelli Tyres has been fined ￡150,000 after an employee was killed in an industrial autoclave. The HSE said the tyre manufacturer should either have prevented access to the autoclave or ensured that it was properly checked each time before its door was closed and the operating cycle started. The incident occurred during a Sunday shift on 30 September 2012 in the bead manufacture area of Pirelli's Carlisle factory. The company used the autoclave to heat rubber tyre beads to temperatures of up to 145℃. During the process, steam would be piped into the vessel under pressure, creating a deadly atmosphere containing little or no oxygen. The victim, 48-year-old George Falder, was last seen alive on CCTV footage at 2.45pm. Just over an hour later, a colleague shut the door on the five-metre long industrial autoclave and began the operating cycle. Mr Falder's body was found inside the autoclave just after 6pm. Mr Falder's colleague had no way of knowing that anyone was inside the autoclave when he switched it on.