{"id":888918,"date":"2026-01-30T23:12:14","date_gmt":"2026-01-31T05:12:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2026\/01\/30\/peabody-firm-fined-400k-after-toxic-glue-exposure-death\/"},"modified":"2026-01-30T23:12:14","modified_gmt":"2026-01-31T05:12:14","slug":"peabody-firm-fined-400k-after-toxic-glue-exposure-death","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2026\/01\/30\/peabody-firm-fined-400k-after-toxic-glue-exposure-death\/","title":{"rendered":"Peabody firm fined \u00a3400k after toxic glue exposure death"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"ED-ONLY_HSE_shutterstock_2188028785.webp\"<\/p>\n

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A Peabody maintenance subsidiary has been fined \u00a3400,000 after an employee died from inhaling toxic vapours from flooring adhesive.<\/p>\n

Darren Nevill was working for Ealing-based Connect Property Services Ltd laying a vinyl bathroom floor at a property in Hoddesdon, Hertfordshire, on 9 December 2020 when he lost consciousness and collapsed, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) said.<\/p>\n

The watchdog\u2019s investigation found that the 38-year-old had been using an adhesive containing high levels of dichloromethane (DCM), which the HSE described as \u201ca highly volatile solvent\u201d.<\/p>\n

The agency said small volumes of the glue will give off large amounts of colourless, low-odour vapour, even at room temperature.<\/p>\n

\u201cOn the day of his death, the hose to the pressurised glue canister became damaged, releasing a large amount of adhesive into the poorly ventilated bathroom,\u201d the HSE said.<\/p>\n

The investigation found he had three times the fatal concentration of DCM.<\/p>\n

Prosecutor Jon Mack said: \u201cHSE scientists calculated that the statutory 15-minute exposure limit for DCM would have been reached within 2-13 seconds, and the final concentration in the bathroom at the time of Mr Nevill\u2019s death would have been 84.5 times the exposure limit.\u201d<\/p>\n

The HSE said Connect Property Services Ltd had \u201cfailed to take appropriate precautions\u201d to ensure substances hazardous to health are not used when safer alternatives are available.<\/p>\n

HSE guidance recommends avoiding the use of DCM-based products whenever \u201creasonably practicable, by using suitable and safer alternative products or methods\u201d.<\/p>\n

It says: \u201cDCM-based products should only be used in well-ventilated areas, to prevent the build-up of vapour.<\/p>\n

\u201cExamples of poorly ventilated areas can include bathrooms, cellars, stairwells and sheeted enclosures.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to the HSE, Connect Property Services pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 at Stevenage Magistrates Court on 26 January.<\/p>\n

The firm \u2013 part of the Peabody Group \u2013 was fined \u00a3400,000 and ordered to pay \u00a39,676.81 costs and a \u00a3190 victim surcharge, the HSE added.<\/p>\n

HSE inspector Rauf Ahmed said: \u201cOur thoughts are with the family of Mr Nevill, who was just setting out on his career in construction.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe should have returned home safely to his family at the end of his working day but, because of the failings of Connect Property Services Ltd, he did not.\u201d<\/p>\n

The firm\u2019s latest accounts, for the year ending 31 March 2025, showed it had set aside \u00a3400,000 in provisions ahead of the hearing.<\/p>\n

The accounts said: \u201cIn December 2020, Connect Property Services experienced a tragic incident undertaking a repair in a resident\u2019s home. This tragic event resulted in [a] significant review of operations.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Read More<\/a>
\n Nicola Harley<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A Peabody maintenance subsidiary has been fined \u00a3400,000 after an employee died from inhaling toxic vapours from flooring adhesive. Darren Nevill was working for Ealing-based Connect Property Services Ltd laying a vinyl bathroom floor at a property in Hoddesdon, Hertfordshire, on 9 December 2020 when he lost consciousness and collapsed, the Health and Safety Executive<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":888919,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22853,121548],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-888918","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-fined","8":"category-peabody"},"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/888918","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=888918"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/888918\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/888919"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=888918"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=888918"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=888918"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}