Transcript
Confined spaces can pose many work health and safety risks, due to dangerous atmospheres and limited entry and exit points.
This is why it is important for employers to understand the hazards their workforce could be facing, particularly in relation to accidents, injuries and fatalities in confined spaces.
Unfortunately, a recent case in Victoria has seen an employer fined for a second time regarding a fatal confined spaces incident in 2010.
Originally, the company was fined $80,000 for work health and safety breaches when a worker was overcome by carbon dioxide while moving stock in a confined space. With the right level of confined spaces training, the individual may have been able to identify the hazard and vacate the area before inhaling a fatal dose.
This year, the same company now may have to pay damages to another employee, who suffered anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder after witnessing the accident.
This incident demonstrates how vital it is to provide employees with a safe working environment in which to complete their duties.
For more information on this or other OHS stories, check out the articles on our news feed.
