HSE continues to work closely with Cheshire Police and Cheshire Fire and Rescue Services at the Wood Flour Mill in Bosley

The events at the Wood Flour Mill show the complexities of flammable dusts and the importance of fully understanding the risks; failure in this case has led to a catastrophic event and investigations are likely to be difficult and time consuming.

As part of the on-going investigation, HSE has recently served a further Prohibition Notice (PN) on mill owners Wood Treatment Ltd, in relation to dust issues in sheds on the site of the mill.

The Prohibition Notice has been served preventing work activities until there has been resolution of the issues identified involving the processing and bagging of large amounts of paper dust in one of the sheds on site.

This is the second Prohibition Notice served on the mill during the investigation into the fatal explosion on July 17 and inspectors are working with the company to ensure safety and further enforcement action has not been ruled out.  An Improvement Notice was served alongside the first Prohibition Notice a few weeks ago, with all notices related to conditions in the sheds.

Steve Smith, HSE Head of Operations for the North West, said: “As the investigation progresses, HSE Inspectors are working with the company to identify potential and actual safety issues around the site.

“HSE specialists continue to assist with the collection of evidence in order to try to establish exactly what happened.”

This should serve as a reminder to other businesses where flammable or combustible dusts are present; the importance of taking positive action to fully identify the risks and corrective actions is a must.  DSEAR assessments must be undertaken by competent persons who fully understand the risk potential and the measures to mitigate the risks.

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