A Queensland waste oil recycling firm and its director face charges over the death of a worker at a Gold Coast plant in 2015.
Oil Tech International and company director Michael Joseph Reid have both been charged in relation to the death of Matthew O'Brien at a waste recycling facility in Yatala.
Mr O'Brien was allegedly using a heat gun close to where a tanker containing water and unleaded petrol was being unloaded when he was engulfed by flames and died at the facility on November 5, 2015.
On Friday, Queensland's Office of Industrial Relations confirmed charges were being laid.
The office said in a statement an investigation into the death had "raised serious questions" about the safety of the workplace and training of workers.
"The lack of any real system to prevent ignition sources coming in contact with flammables and prohibiting hot work while unloading flammables into a containment area exposed the worker to such serious risks that an allegation of reckless conduct is being made," the statement reads.
"Had available and relatively simple controls been used by the company, it's believed the worker's death would have been avoided."
Reid is charged with not exercising due diligence and faces a maximum five years' imprisonment or a fine of $600,000.
Oil Tech International could be liable for fines up to $3 million.
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