Failure of cold/frozen food store ceilings
Wednesday, 10 November 2010
HSE has recently completed a fatal accident investigation
following the failure of the ceiling of a frozen food store.
Two men fell to the floor of the store when
insulation panels separated from the steelwork, which supported the
ceiling. One of the men died from his injuries.
The store was constructed in the 1970s. The insulation panels
consisted of a sandwich of steel sheets bonded to polyurethane
foam. These were bolted to a metal support frame, with engineering
grade plastic bolts. The manufacturer of the panels and bolts is
unknown. The design is believed to have been common and there are
likely to be many of these stores still in use. The mode of
failure in this incident gives rise to concern of a future
failure.
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