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#1 Posted : 13 July 2007 10:55:00(UTC)
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Posted By Peter MacDonald Hi I recently received an official looking safety flash covering the fatality of a young man on a site when a can of expanding foam exploded as he shook it. It's being passed about on e-mail which is how I got it (it did not come direct from the originator) but it just doesn't sit right with me. I've had a few myths passed off as fact in this way so can anyone out there confirm if this is a myth or did it actually happen? We use a lot of this stuff and if it's real I'd like to get into the detail. Peter
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#2 Posted : 13 July 2007 11:22:00(UTC)
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Posted By CFT www.thornsqd.co.uk/images/foam.pdf Dated the 3rd July. Can't however confirm authenticity, one would need to spend a bit more time on it. CFT
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#3 Posted : 13 July 2007 11:27:00(UTC)
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Posted By brian mills There is a statement issued by the supplier on the matter, which states that the matter is under investigation, be the HSE and the Procurator Fiscal. There is also a helpline to ring to be assured the safety of their products. My Company has issued an alert to be make staff aware of the real problem and the myths that have sprung up. Hope this helps Regards Brian
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#4 Posted : 13 July 2007 11:29:00(UTC)
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Posted By Paul Duell BBC News website http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/...d/north_east/6442153.stm
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#5 Posted : 13 July 2007 11:35:00(UTC)
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Posted By Lee Mac Brian, Can you direct me to the statement? Lee
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#6 Posted : 13 July 2007 11:46:00(UTC)
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Posted By brian mills I have just contacted the company direct, they have issed a statement and they send it by request. I asked the company to put the statement on their website with a file path link, this they are considering. They have requested that I post their response here? I will if the moderators agree? You can e mail me direct in the meantime for the statement. Regards Brian
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#7 Posted : 13 July 2007 12:18:00(UTC)
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Posted By Jim Walker I was sent an alert last week. Was a little concerned as to its validity Passed it on only for someone to tell me it was untrue and the story has been circulating for some time. Am now really confused! Mods please allow this to run uncensored as we need to be able to know the facts. I tried to contact Bostick (who I believe own Evostick) but their web site is virtually impossible to access.
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#8 Posted : 13 July 2007 12:27:00(UTC)
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Posted By Mark Gordon I have been sent this safety alert by e-mail as well , but i have since been sent an e-mail from the BHSEA stating that the unfortunate individual concerned had in fact heated the canister with a blow torch.
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#9 Posted : 13 July 2007 13:38:00(UTC)
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Posted By ciara brennan Hi all I actually went to school with James Thomson (the poor buy that died) Yes there was a rumour going round that he heated the cannister however i dont think it was confirmed.
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#11 Posted : 13 July 2007 13:52:00(UTC)
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Posted By Peter MacDonald Thanks for all who replied, especially Brian. I raised this question as a pet hate of mine is the prevalance of information being passed around as safety flashes that are either wrong, misleading or just made up. We'll have to wait and see what actually happened here but it has to be noted that in the meantime some reputable companies have been passing comments as fact without checking them. Regards Peter
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#12 Posted : 13 July 2007 15:52:00(UTC)
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Posted By brian mills You are right Peter, my response is with the moderator now maybe they will post it so that you all can have a read. Have a nice weekend Regards Brian
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#13 Posted : 17 July 2007 12:31:00(UTC)
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Posted By Carol Turner Bostik Ltd Customer Care Manager We (Bostik Ltd) have been advised of an incident with one of the products from the Bostik range; Evo-Stik Expanding Foam, which has resulted in a fatal accident in the Highlands The matter is currently being investigated by HSE and the Procurator Fiscal in Scotland. From information we have received to date on this matter we understand that the canister was not used in accordance with the instructions. We are awaiting the final report on this matter however at this stage there is no suggestion that the product itself was at fault. We understand that there are also rumours now circulating that the cans 'burst' for no reason. This is wholly inaccurate and we currently do not know why this is being reported. We can absolutely assure you that the construction of the canisters and their resistance to pressure are tested as part of production and we can confirm that we have no incident of any fault with any of these containers. The canisters do not 'explode' or 'burst' of their own volition and we have no record of this phenomenon ever occurring. Expulsion of the product from the can only occurs when the canister is misused (for example by piercing or subjecting them to heat. The cans and data sheets do warn not to do this) As a responsible and diligent supplier we understand that you may have some concerns about this product we therefore wanted to reassure you that the Expanding Foam products supplied by Bostik Ltd are fit for purpose and we have no safety issues with this product Please contact our Technical Team on 01785 272727 who will be pleased to discuss any questions you may have on this product Cat Turner Customer Care Manager Bostik Ltd
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#14 Posted : 17 July 2007 13:02:00(UTC)
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Posted By Lilian McCartney Thank you Cat at Bostik for your reply. We all recognise that rumours can abound in these circumstances.
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#15 Posted : 17 July 2007 19:04:00(UTC)
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Posted By Seamus O Sullivan Hi Untill the full facts are established, is it not wise to avoid use of this product? Seamus
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#16 Posted : 18 July 2007 08:38:00(UTC)
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Posted By Carol Turner Bostik Ltd Customer Care Manager Safety of Evo-Stik Foam Filler There are several versions of a bogus 'safety flyer' being circulated which give the very false impression that Evo-Stik Expanding Foam canisters explode whilst either being stored on shelves or in use. These flyers also imply that this has been the cause of a fatal accident and also that the information has been issued by the HSE which is incorrect The information being distributed is being sent out as a result of an Email issued by CECA Scotland to its members which contains many inaccuracies CECA Scotland have issued a full retraction and apology for the misleading statements contained in their original Email A fatal accident is currently being investigated by HSE. They have not released a statement. Any safety alerts that you may have seen have not been endorsed by the HSE. We can absolutely assure you that we have no incident of any fault with any of these containers. The canisters do not 'explode' or 'burst' of their own volition and we have no record of this phenomenon ever occurring. The product is safe to use when the user complies with the instructions on both the pack and the accompanying safety data sheets. As a responsible and diligent supplier we understand that as a result of this false information being distributed that you may have some concerns about this product we therefore wanted to reassure you that the Evo-Stik Expanding Foam products are fit for purpose and we have no safety issues with this product Please contact our Technical Team on 01785 272727 who will be pleased to discuss any questions you may have on this product Cat Turner Customer Care Manager Bostik Ltd
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#17 Posted : 18 July 2007 08:43:00(UTC)
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Posted By db This is still under investigation so care needs to be taken about what is posted here. We should not be talking so openly of the "facts" - and although I see why bostik would want to put the record straight, it's not appropriate for anyone to second guess the investigation.
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#18 Posted : 18 July 2007 09:34:00(UTC)
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Posted By Sean Fraser I consider that this incident is very suspect, and I can fully understand that Bostick will be very keen to offset the misinformation that has circulated very quickly within the safety profession - goes to show that bad news travels fast! I've raised a new thread on the topic of myths and legends, how they plague the topic of safety issue and have suggested one means of checking the validity of any new (or recycled) safety "alerts" before taking any action.
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#19 Posted : 31 August 2007 10:41:00(UTC)
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Posted By phil beresford Does anyone have any further information firm on this matter.
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#20 Posted : 04 September 2007 13:39:00(UTC)
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Posted By peter gotch Phil. Don't think there's much in the public domain except http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/...d/north_east/6442153.stm and Bostik communications. Doubt that much will come out for a considerable time. Regards, Peter
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#21 Posted : 17 October 2007 12:28:00(UTC)
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Posted By Lee Mac Have the investigation results into this tragedy been made public yet? Lee
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#22 Posted : 17 October 2007 21:53:00(UTC)
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Posted By Henry Thomas I have read this thread with great interest and can only say the following to my knowledge.... I indeed received this "Alert" some 4 or 5 weeks ago from a Company who claimed it to be from one of their sites sadly! Where the can had according to their alert, been left on a vehicle dashboard above the windscreen heater!! Hence the issue of explosion i guess? Anyway, I made a few calls to some colleagues of mine who work with the firm concerned and was happy to forward the alert onto a very large organisation where i once worked some years back and they agreed to distribute it to their 1500 contractors to pre-warn them to simply store their cans correctly IE in boxes supplied and away from heat sources. Hope this helps guys. Regards, Henry
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