Peabody maintenance firm fined by HSE after employee dies from toxic fumes

A Peabody-owned maintenance company has been fined after an employee died from inhaling toxic vapours from flooring adhesive.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has announced a £400,000 penalty for Connect Property Services Limited after an investigation found the company had failed to “take appropriate precautions to ensure substances hazardous to health are not used when safer alternatives are available”.

Darren Nevill, 38, was working for the organisation laying a vinyl bathroom floor at a property in Hoddesdon in Hertfordshire on 9 December 2020.

At the time of the incident, Connect Property Services was part of Aldwyck, which had recently merged with Catalyst. The combined organisation subsequently completed a merger with Peabody in 2023.

The employer had purchased an adhesive called Dichloromethane (DCM), a highly volatile solvent which in small volumes gives off larger amounts of colourless, low odour vapour.

Nevill used the product regularly during his employment but on the day of his death, the hose to the pressurised glue canister had become damaged, releasing a large quantity of adhesive into the poorly ventilated bathroom, causing him to collapse.

“HSE scientists calculated that the statutory 15-minute exposure limit for DCM would have been reached within 2-13 seconds, and the final concentration in the bathroom at the time of Mr Nevill’s death would have been 84.5 times the exposure limit,” prosecutor Jon Mack told the court.

“Mr Nevill was found to have three times the fatal concentration of DCM.”

Emergency services had to force entry to the bathroom to reach him.

The HSE says use of DCM-based products should be avoided where possible by using safer alternatives. When they are used, they should only be applied in well-ventilated areas.

The company pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974.

Its fine, alongside an order to pay costs of £9676.81 with a surcharge of £190, was issued at Stevenage Magistrates Court last week (26 January).

Speaking after the hearing, HSE inspector Rauf Ahmed said: “Our thoughts today are with the family of Mr Nevill, who was just setting out on his career in construction. He should have returned home safely to his family at the end of his working day but, because of the failings of Connect Property Services Limited, he did not.”

The HSE prosecution was brought by HSE enforcement lawyer Neenu Bains and paralegal officer Helen Jacob.

Peabody said it had cooperated fully with the HSE.

A spokesperson for the housing association said: “This was a tragic accident, and our thoughts remain with Darren’s family and friends. It is an upsetting time for all of Darren’s colleagues as we remember the distressing loss of a valued member of our team.

“Connect Property Services reported this to the Health and Safety Executive immediately following the incident in December 2020, and we’ve cooperated fully throughout the investigation.

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“Following the incident, the use of the product was immediately stopped, and we do not allow the use of contact spray adhesives containing Dichloromethane by our employees or contractors. We also strengthened procedures, training and controls to significantly reduce the risk of anything like this happening again.

“While nothing can change what happened, we continue to make sure the lessons learnt from this tragedy are remembered today. We do everything we can to protect the health and safety of everyone who works for us or alongside us.”