A Melbourne youth organisation has been fined over a failed science experiment that resulted in a student being set alight and taken to hospital with burns.
An educator was also injured in the incident in November 2022, after they jumped on the boy in an attempt to smother the flames, according to Victoria’s work safety watchdog.
A stock image of a similar carbon sugar snake experiment.Credit: Share Alike 4.0
Eleven male students were taking part in a science club at the Chabad Youth Limited building in St Kilda East when the accident occurred.
The organisation, the largest Jewish youth organisation in the southern hemisphere, had hired an educator to carry out the “carbon sugar snake” experiment, according to WorkSafe Victoria.
The activity involved mixing baking soda and powdered sugar, soaking sand in isopropyl (often known as rubbing alcohol) and lighting the sugar mix with a lighter or match.
There was no lesson plan, risk assessment or personal protective equipment such as fire-resistant coats or gloves, and the instructions were from a website, WorkSafe said in a statement.
“The court heard the educator appears to have instead lit a match prior to pouring the isopropyl alcohol, some of which has then splashed in the direction of a student and immediately set their upper body and arms on fire,” the statement said.
“A fire extinguisher deployed after the educator jumped onto the student in an attempt to smother the flames only aggravated the blaze, before it was eventually extinguished with a fire blanket.”
The student was admitted to hospital with burns to 9 per cent of his body, while the teacher sustained “superficial dermal burns” to 5 per cent of their body
Chabad Youth Limited pleaded guilty to two charges of failing to ensure persons other than employees weren’t exposed to health and safety risks.
The organisation was subsequently ordered to pay a $45,000 fine and more than $7000 in legal costs at a sentencing hearing at the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court this month.
According to WorkSafe, the charity admitted it was reasonably practicable to have ensured that the educator wore protective clothing while conducting the experiment; that students were either kept at least two metres away from the experiment, provided with the same protective gear, or both.
Two of the organisation’s directors were contacted for comment in relation to the incident.
WorkSafe’s health and safety executive director Sam Jenkin said using hazardous materials required careful planning and consideration of risks.
“Experiments using highly flammable substances can be an important educational tool but can have potentially catastrophic consequences if things go wrong,” Jenkin said.
Magistrate Roslyn Porter did not hand down a conviction, noting it would have an impact on the charity’s reputation. She acknowledged the importance of the services the organisation provides.
The gravity of the risk was “very high as illustrated by the injuries sustained”, the magistrate said in her decision.
She also considered the organisation co-operated with the investigation, pleaded guilty early and had an “unblemished history” in its 50 years of operation.
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