Exploding acid bottle costs college £32,000

Prosecutions and Claims |
08.04.2008

A Bristol college must pay £32,000 in fines and costs after a tutor was badly burned when a bottle of concentrated nitric acid exploded on his desk.

Over a period of three years, Gary Baird, a welding tutor at City of Bristol College, regularly mixed concentrated nitric acid and 96% ethanol to make nital acid etching solution to test the welds done by students.

On 2 May 2006, he received serious burns and cuts when a bottle of the concentrated acid exploded.

HSE inspector Susan Chivers said the college had failed to ensure Baird was adequately trained and supervised.

"Working with chemicals is dangerous and anyone doing so needs to have the necessary knowledge, skills and equipment to keep themselves safe," she commented.

"Without such safety systems, it is often just a matter of time before something goes wrong - sometimes with devastating consequences."

City of Bristol College admitted breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act.

On 4 April, Bristol magistrates fined the college £14,000 and ordered it to pay £18,000 costs.