Charges for poisoning at work

WorkSafe has laid charges over alleged health and safety breaches after a worker was poisoned by chemicals and left in an induced coma in an accident at a Christchurch warehouse.

A contractor was in hospital for more than two weeks after being exposed to a poisonous substance while processing chemicals at Pest Control Research (PCR) in May last year. The man was getting chemicals ready to be delivered from its site in Bromley to the company’s factory in Rolleston when the accident occurred.

A colleague rushed him to a medical centre before he was taken to Christchurch Hospital with serious injuries. He made a full recovery and later returned to work.

The cause of the accident is still unclear but the incident was contained to the warehouse and posed no risk to other people, nearby workplaces or the environment.

WorkSafe would not specify the charges laid in Christchurch District Court on Monday or say who they were filed against, but said they were laid under the Health and Safety at Work Act and regulations around hazardous substances. PCR did not respond to requests for comment yesterday.

Speaking after the incident, PCR chief executive Matthew O’Brien said the firm had been operating for many years in Christchurch manufacturing pest control devices and poisons without incident.

The company was ‘‘experienced’’ at handling dangerous chemicals and had an ‘‘excellent safety record’’, he said at the time. ‘‘Obviously, we are very concerned this incident has occurred and will do everything we can to find out how it happened, why, and what can be done to prevent it from happening again.’’

The company, which manufactures bait products that contain the pesticide 1080 at its plant in Rolleston’s Izone industrial park, has attracted controversy in the past.

The firm, partly owned by the West Coast Regional Council, unveiled plans to make possum bait pellets at the park in 2014.

The proposal drew concern from local residents, with more than 2000 signing a petition against the plant.

A date for the hearing is yet to be set.