Maintenance Company Fined After Worker Died From Toxic Glue Exposure

Brief Summary

A housing association maintenance company was fined after a worker died after inhaling toxic vapours from flooring adhesive containing dichloromethane. The case highlights the need to avoid hazardous substances where safer alternatives are reasonably practicable and to ensure adequate ventilation and controls when such substances must be used.

What Was The Incident?

An employee, was laying a vinyl bathroom floor at a domestic property when a hose to a pressurised glue canister became damaged. This released a large amount of adhesive containing dichloromethane into a poorly ventilated bathroom. He lost consciousness and collapsed, and emergency services had to force entry to reach him.

What Was The Outcome?

The Company pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974. At Stevenage Magistrates Court on 26 January 2026, the company was fined £400,000 and ordered to pay costs of £9676.81 with a surcharge of £190.

What Lessons Can Be Learnt?

Avoid hazardous substances where safer alternatives exist. The employer failed to take appropriate precautions to ensure dichloromethane was not used when safer alternative products or methods were reasonably practicable.

Plan for high vapour risk in enclosed spaces. Dichloromethane based products should only be used in well ventilated areas because vapours can build up quickly, including in bathrooms.

Control equipment failures that can release large quantities. A damaged hose to a pressurised canister released a large amount of adhesive, so maintenance and checks for systems used to apply adhesives must prevent or mitigate releases.

Treat ventilation as a core part of safe use. Using dichloromethane in a poorly ventilated bathroom contributed to dangerous exposure, reinforcing that ventilation requirements must be identified and implemented before work starts.

Use exposure guidance to drive risk assessment and decisions. HSE scientists calculated that the statutory 15 minute exposure limit would have been reached within seconds and the concentration was far above the exposure limit, showing why risk assessments must translate hazard properties into practical control measures.

HSE Prosecution Link