Explosion in Tampere leads to criminal convictions for foundry company and executives in Finland

An explosion in an induction furnace in Tampere, Finland, in September 2022, has resulted in a criminal conviction for a foundry company and two of its executives due to burn injuries suffered by employees. The incident occurred when molten steel penetrated the lining of the furnace and came into contact with a water-cooled cooling roll, leading to an explosion that splashed molten steel onto two workers.

The company and four executives were defendants in the court case, where all denied their guilt. Two of the accused had their charges dismissed, while the company was penalized with a €10,000 fine, and the CEO received an €1,800 fine. Additionally, the manager responsible for assessing the furnace’s hazards and planning its use received a €1,100 fine. The Pirkanmaa District Court issued its ruling on October 17, 2023, noting that the decision is not yet final.

The court identified the manager’s failure to assess the furnace’s hazards and the lack of a plan to address the emergency that led to the incident. Furthermore, it found the manager and CEO responsible for instructing employees to disconnect the ground fault cable against the manufacturer’s safety guidelines. This cable is designed to shut off power when it detects metal molten touching the furnace’s power coil, and its disconnection bypasses the safety alert, allowing the furnace to be restarted in emergencies.

The chain of events that led to the accident began with a power outage. After the blackout, the furnace could not be restarted due to a ground fault alert. To resolve this, the convicted manager instructed employees to remove the ground fault cable, enabling the furnace to start before it subsequently exploded, injuring the two workers. The Regional State Administrative Agency emphasized that employers must account for emergency scenarios in their hazard assessments and plan safe procedures accordingly.