New HSE Safety Alert warns of potentially lethal fluid injection injuries during routine maintenance operations on hydraulic systems

23 Jun 2017

The Health and Safety Executive issued a safety alert on 12 June 2017 relating to a track tensioning incident in which an operative died from a hydraulic injection injury.

The key issues in STSU 2-2017 are highlighted as:

Do not refit/reuse hydraulic components that have detached from the hydraulic system under pressure.  An operative died from hydraulic injection injuries sustained whilst tensioning the track of an item of construction plant. The grease nipple became detached from the track adjustment mechanism permitting the release of grease under high pressure. This alert reminds those involved in the adjustment and maintenance of hydraulic machinery of the potential for such injury during this type of work.

Members may wish to consider whether there are lessons that apply to them in the following link. HSE points out that although the incident in question related to tracked plant and an enclosed hydraulic system, it provides a salutary lesson about how an apparently routine task can lead to lethal hydraulic injection injuries.

http://www.hse.gov.uk/safetybulletins/track-tensioning.htm

BFPA’s fluid injection injuries – the facts – emergency access

Following a recent incident where a UK national sustained a suspected hydraulic fluid injury while working abroad and phoned the BFPA for help, BFPA has recently implemented a policy of allowing a copy of its Fluid Injection Injury Emergency – The Facts booklet to be accessed via the BFPA Training Academy website www.bfpatrainingacademy.co.uk with a password provided by the BFPA. In this instance, the individual was able to share the facts with the hospital where treatment was being given and thankfully the outcome was a positive one.

This initiative will be developed further – following a BFPA Marketing Committee meeting on 21 June the BFPA plans to publish extracted emergency treatment advice free of charge on the web – more details will follow once this is setup.

P113 Fluid injection injury emergency – The Facts is a BFPA publication, which can be bought for £3.30 per copy (members’ price). The P114 Fluid injection injury poster is also available from the BFPA.

For more information on BFPA’s fluid injection injury publications please contact Karen Gordon-Brander on karen@bfpa.co.uk or call 01608 647900