Two companies were fined tens of thousands of dollars in the Invercargill District Court yesterday (November 5), after workers were chemically burned during cleaning operations at a Mycoplasma bovis-infected farm in Southland.

The incident happened in April 2018 on a farm just outside of Winton. 

Seven workers suffered minor or superficial burns and five of them were taken to Southland Hospital for treatment, although they did not need to be admitted. 

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One woman’s superficial burns on her arm later became infected and the victim impact statement read that she now has scars on her wrist, which look as if they are self-inflicted, and she now feels she is judged for having them.

OneStaff (Queenstown/Invercargill) Limited was fined $38,500 by Judge Russell Walker and was also ordered to pay $2,392.93 towards WorkSafe’s prosecution costs.

The other party at fault, AsureQuality was fined $66,000 and ordered to also pay $2,392.93 towards Work Safe’s prosecution costs.

Judge Russell Walker said that although AssureQuality had a safety plan, it was not properly implemented. It also did not properly induct or train the OneStaff workers or provide the appropriate Personal Protective Equipment (PPE).

He also said AssureQuality did not supervise or monitor the workers at all times. 

Being the main contractors, AssureQuality was found to be most at fault.

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AssureQuality pleaded guilty to failing to ensure the health and safety of workers and failing to properly co-ordinate with the other companies involved in the cleaning work.

WorkSafe first laid the charges, following an investigation where it found that OneStaff did not properly co-ordinate with AssureQuality about a safe system of work or ensure that its workers had adequate training, supervision, or appropriate PPE for the work. 

Both OneStaff and AssureQuality accepted responsibility for their faults in the incident and fully co-operated with WorkSafe’s investigation. 

Katie Hogan, for WorkSafe, said OneStaff indirectly contributed to the harm of the workers by failing to discharge its duties. 

Joseph Lill, for OneStaff, said OneStaff was disappointed that if failed in its duty of care to the workers, but said the real “cause of harm” was the introduction of a new chemical – XClean Doo Away – which was not approved for use.

In 2017, The Ministry for Primary Industries engaged the government-owned enterprise AsureQuality to oversee the cleaning services for disinfecting the outbreak around the county. 

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The matter was pressing. 

M.bovis is a bacterium that causes an untreatable disease in beef and dairy cattle with symptoms including udder infection, spontaneous abortion, pneumonia and arthritis. Although M.bovis is widespread internationally, it had never before been identified in New Zealand.

Then on October 31, 2017, after having conducted a pre-qualification process, AsureQuality contracted Industrial Scrub & Sweep (ISS) to carry out the cleaning and disinfecting work at the infected farms in Oamaru. 

The summary of facts states that there was “inadequate communication between the AsureQuality, MPI and ISS about how the health and safety aspects of the cleaning and disinfecting work would be managed”.

By late January and early February 2018 M.bovis was identified in Invercargill and it soon became apparent that more workers were needed to carry out the cleaning work so AsureQuality approached OneStaff to hire temporary workers to assist with the cleaning and disinfecting work. OneStaff was supplied with gumboots, basic safety glasses, nitrile gloves and disposable overalls.

However, in May 2018, in light of “time pressures and MPI critique of the cleaning work to date”, ISS decided to introduce the use of a sodium hydroxide-based cleaner called X-Clean DOO AWAY to clean the farm in question. 

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The chemical was not listed in AsureQuality’s safety plan or cleaning and disinfection plan for use at Invercargill, although the chemical had been approved by MPI the previous year to use in the M.bovis response in Ashburton.

Seven workers at the farm near Winton then received burns from using the product.

As well as the fines, the two defendants, One Staff and Assure Quality were ordered to pay one third of the $5000 reparation costs to five victims. 

The Ministry of Primary Industries is also facing charges in relation to the incident but has pleaded not guilty. That case is due back in court on November 24.