The Health and Safety Authority has warned of the potentially lethal consequences of using small internal combustion engines in confined, badly ventilated spaces.
The warning comes after the conviction of John O'Driscoll (57), a chip-van owner, from Phale, Ballineen, Co Cork, at Skibbereen District Court earlier this week for two breaches of the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act, 1989. O'Driscoll pleaded guilty to charges of failing to have a safety statement in place on April 19th, 1998, and failing to provide a safe place of work in his chip van.
Ms Norma Murphy (18), who was employed by O'Driscoll, died on April 19th, 1998, when she was overcome by carbon monoxide fumes from a generator he had put beside her in the cab of his van as she slept. Sentencing was deferred until October 15th.
Ms Murphy worked regularly for O'Driscoll but was not working that night. She had gone to sit in the cab while waiting for others to finish.
Tests showed a lethal atmosphere of carbon monoxide gas would have built up in the cab in a few minutes.
O'Driscoll's lawyers said he was not aware of the seriousness of the risk in placing the generator in the cab.
Mr Michael Henry, the chief inspector of the Health and Safety Authority, said yesterday that exhaust fumes from petrol, diesel and liquid petroleum gas-fuelled engines could quickly reach harmful concentrations. Cold and intermittently-run engines were particularly dangerous when run indoors without exhaust ventilation.
