Questacon pleads guilty after nine-year-old child’s hands caught fire during plasma globe incident in Canberra
A child suffered horrific burns after their hands caught fire at Questacon, but it was far from the first warning.
A nine-year-old child’s hands caught fire during a visit to Questacon after they used hand sanitiser and touched a plasma globe, with the Canberra attraction now admitting it failed to protect visitors from serious injury.
The Department of Industry, Science and Resources, which operates Questacon, pleaded guilty in the ACT Magistrates Court to a workplace health and safety offence over the July 23, 2022 incident.
The child had applied alcohol-based hand sanitiser supplied by Questacon before touching a plasma globe inside one of the science centres’ galleries.
Sign up to The Nightly's newsletters.
Get the first look at the digital newspaper, curated daily stories and breaking headlines delivered to your inbox.
By continuing you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy.Their hands caught fire, leaving the nine-year-old with second-degree burns to their wrists, hands and fingers, as well as a blister on their right forearm.
A Comcare investigation found the danger posed by combining the alcohol-based sanitiser and plasmas globe was significant and obvious.
It was also far from the first warning.
“This was not an isolated event. The child’s injuries marked the sixth safety incident in five months involving the globes,” Comcare CEO Colin Radford said.
“This included a near miss in February 2022 where a staff member noticed the combination of hand sanitiser with metal could cause sparks from a plasma globe, and another incident that month where a visitor received a shock to a hand.
“Questacon’s response to these incidents was inadequate. It’s a large, interactive facility with inherent workplace health and safety risks that require a proactive approach and constant vigilance.”
The Department admitted it had failed to comply with its primary health and safety duty under the Commonwealth Work Health and Safety Act.
It acknowledged reasonably practicable measures could have been taken to eliminate or reduce the danger before the child was injured.
Those included ensuring the plasma globe could only be used under the supervision of trained Questacon staff.
The attraction could also have replaced its alcohol-based sanitiser with a non-alcohol alternative, provided portable soap and water hand-washing stations or warned visitors against using flammable substances before touching the globes.
Instead, this child became the sixth person involved in a safety incident connected to the displays within a five month period.
The Department pleaded guilty to a Category 2 offence under the Work Health and Safety Act, admitting it exposed visitors to a risk of death or serious injury.
The offence carries a maximum penalty of $1.5 million.
The matter was prosecuted by the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions, with Magistrate Ian Temby sentencing the Department.
Questacon is a division of the Department of Industry, Science and Resources and is one of Canberra’s best-known interactive attractions, designed to give children and families hands-on experiences with science and technology.
