DIC'S CLEANING COMPANY FINED $600,000 OVER INK VAT FATALITY

Buddco, the company contracted by ink manufacturing giant DIC to supply labour for its Auburn site, has been fined $600,000, following the death of a worker, and serious injury of another, in an ink vat they were cleaning.

DIC itself has already been fined $450,000 over the incident, that saw Craig Tanner suffered fatal injuries after entering an ink holding tank to clean it at the factory in Auburn, NSW, six years ago.

The 42-year-old contractor was a father of three from Engadine in Sydney’s south, who ran Complete Blasting Solutions. Fellow worker Yatin Mehta entered the tank to try and assist Tanner, and subsequently suffered serious injuries, with multiple fractures to the leg.

Safework NSW said it was an “avoidable incident”, as Buddco was found guilty in the District Court of New South Wales of a charge under section 19(1)/32 of the Work Health and Safety Act 2011.

Buddco had been engaged by DIC Australia to supply labour for, among other things, maintaining and servicing the ink manufacturing plant, which was owned by DIC Australia at the Auburn site. Buddco had in turn engaged Tanner to clean out the ink tank.

The Court found that as the agitator was not electrically isolated, the risk of death or serious injury to a worker crushed by an anchor blade inside a holding tank was obvious and foreseeable.

In accordance with the requirements under the Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999, the Court noted it was not satisfied Buddco had accepted responsibility for its actions and its role in the death of Tanner and the injuries suffered by Mehta.

The Court further found that while Buddco had a detailed written safety system in place for confined space work and tank cleaning, there was no standard or safe step-by-step procedure to ensure electrical isolation of the tank.

Buddco has the right to appeal against the conviction and sentence.

In April 2021, DIC Australia was convicted and fined $450,000 for breach of the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 in relation to this incident.

Head of SafeWork NSW Natasha Mann said, “SafeWork NSW is committed to ensuring workplaces across the state are operating at the highest possible standard to ensure workers are safe, while working to prevent an incident like this ever happening again.

“Devastating outcomes like this should serve as a reminder for other companies to provide their workers with the safest possible working environment to ensure they make it home safe at the end of each shift.”