New publications this month:

HEALTH AND SAFETY EXECUTIVE

INDG285: Landlords: A Guide to Landlords' Duties Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998

An updated version of this guidance has been published. This reflects changes permitting increased flexibility in the timing of annual gas safety checks.

HEALTH AND SAFETY EXECUTIVE NORTHERN IRELAND (HSENI)

L121: Work with ionising radiation: Approved Code of Practice and Guidance

HSENI has approved the HSE’s L121 Approved Code of Practice and Guidance for use in Northern Ireland.

EUROPEAN CHEMICALS AGENCY (ECHA)

Focus on identifying substances of potential concern

ECHA has published its annual report describing the progress in implementing the Substance of Very High Concern (SVHC) Roadmap.

EUROPEAN AGENCY FOR SAFETY AND HEALTH AT WORK (EU-OSHA)

Factsheets on carcinogens

Ten factsheets have been published covering common carcinogens such as asbestos, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), vinyl chloride, chromium VI, hardwood dust, welding fumes, silica dust, diesel engine exhaust and benzene.

OFFICE OF ROAD AND RAIL (ORR)

Railways and Other Guided Transport Systems (Safety) Regulations 2006 (as amended): A Guide to ROGS

ORR’s guidance on the Railways and Other Guided Transport Systems (Safety) Regulations 2006, as amended, has been updated.

Company fined following death of worker

Viridor Waste Management Ltd has been fined after a man was fatally injured in a lorry runaway incident at Derriford Hospital in Plymouth in June 2015.

The employee had been using a lorry vehicle on a downward sloping road outside of the incinerator building. The employee was in the process of coupling the lorry to the skip trailer on this road when he lost control of the vehicle. When he attempted to prevent the vehicle from running away he was drawn under the trailer and sustained fatal injuries

An HSE investigation established that the handbrake of the lorry had not been applied and that there was no suitable and sufficient specific risk assessment to address the waste collection operation on site. As a result the work had not been appropriately planned.

Breaches

Viridor Waste Management Ltd pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 3(1)(a) of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999:

• Regulation 3(1)(a) requires that every employer undertakes a suitable and sufficient risk assessment of risks to health and safety of their employees while at work.

Penalty

Viridor Waste Management Ltd was fined £237,500 and ordered to pay costs of £128,428.94.

Transport company fined for failure to provide a safe system of work and adequate training for staff

Colin Lawson Transport Limited has been fined after failing to provide a safe system of work and adequate training for their staff after a worker suffered fatal crush injuries.

The employee was killed when they became trapped between two heavy goods vehicles in May 2016.

Breaches

The company pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2 and Section 33(1) (a) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974.

• Under Section 2 it is the responsibility of every employer is required to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health, safety and welfare at work of all employees
• Under Section 33(1) (a) it is an offense for a person to fail to discharge a duty to which s/he is subject by virtue of Sections 2 to 7 (these sections set out general duties of employers, manufacturers and employees).

Penalty

Colin Lawson Transport Limited was fined £180,000.

Contractors fined for failing to put proper procedures and safeguards in place

BAM Nuttall and McNealy Brown have been fined after failing to put proper procedures and safeguards in place to prevent a third-party painter from falling through a ceiling.

On 7 January 2015, the injured man fell around 10 feet through a waiting room ceiling at East Croydon railway station. The man, aged 31 at the time of the accident, suffered severe ligament damage and has been unable to return to work as an industrial painter. The fall occurred through an unguarded fragile roof.

The court heard that although the injured man had received a site induction on arrival, he was not fully briefed on the risk assessment and the controls it set out.

On the second visit by the injured party, a safety briefing was not provided and the man was not warned about fragile roofs present.

Breaches

BAM Nuttall and McNealy Brown were found guilty of breaching Section 3 of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974:

• Section 3 requires that employers conduct their undertaking in a way to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, that persons not in their employment are no exposed to risks to their health or safety.

Penalty

BAM Nuttall and McNealy Brown were fined £900,000 and £65,000 respectively. Costs of £7,157 were also awarded.