Waste recycling centre operator fined for safety failures
A company that operates several household waste and recycling centres in Wales has been fined for failing to protect workers and members of the public.
The company pleaded guilty to failures at Llandrindod Wells Household Waste and Recycling Centre in Powys. The charges arose following an HSE inspection on 6 October 2022.
A HSE inspector identified a risk of serious injury to both workers and the public. Action was taken to stop the use of three waste compactor machines due to there being unrestricted access to the controls and to dangerous parts of the machines, namely the compaction chambers.
A subsequent HSE investigation identified that the risks associated with the operation of the compactors had not been adequately assessed and there was no clear instruction or training provided to workers. Pre-use checks were considered inadequate and there was no recognised safe method of clearing blockages within the compaction chambers.
Further enforcement action was taken to secure improvements in the management arrangements and improved control measures.
HSE guidance, including information on the various safety hazards, is available online.
Breach
Sundorne Products (Llanidloes) Limited pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2(1) and Section 3(1) to the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974:
- Section 2(1) applies a duty on every employer to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health, safety and welfare at work of all employees.
- Section 3(1) applies a duty on every employer to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, that persons other than employers are not exposed to risks to their health or safety.
Penalty
Sundorne Products (Llanidloes) Limited was fined £100,000 and ordered to pay costs of £10,077.
South Wales construction firm fined for failing to comply with notices
A renovation company in South Wales has been sentenced after defying HSE enforcement notices.
HSE inspectors stated the company failed to heed their warnings about the dangers posed to workers by a two-and-a-half metre-deep excavation of the entire back garden of a house in Cwmbach, Aberdare.
An HSE inspection of the refurbishment works on September 2023 followed up on reports of unsafe construction work. It found that:
- Employees were working within the excavation, which was approximately 2.5 metres deep.
- The sides of the excavation were vertical, leaving a risk of rubble subsiding or collapsing without warning.
- The site had not been secured to prevent unauthorised access.
- There was no risk assessment for the refurbishment works and no safe system of work.
- The managing director at Greenlife Property Developments Ltd was present on site at the time.
The HSE served the company with a Prohibition Notice, requiring the firm to stop construction work within the excavation until it had corrected defects under a safe system of work.
Two Improvement Notices were also served, one requiring the company to secure the site while the other ordered the firm to obtain advice on the risks to workers inside the excavation and implement a safe system of work.
A subsequent HSE investigation found Greenlife Property Developments Ltd breached the Prohibition Notice by continuing construction work inside the excavation. The company also failed to comply with one of the Improvement Notices as it did not obtain advice on the risks to workers inside the excavation and implement a safe system of work. The managing director ignored repeated attempts by HSE to contact him in relation to the notices served and the conditions on site and attempted to deceive HSE by providing false information in relation to the actions taking by the company to comply with the notices.
HSE guidance states that excavation work must be properly planned and carried out to prevent accidents.
Breach
Greenlife Property Developments Ltd was found guilty of breaching Section 33(1)(c) and two breaches of Section 33(1)(g) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974:
- Section 33(1)(c) makes it an offence to contravene any health and safety regulations or any requirement of prohibition imposed under these regulations.
- Section 33(1)(g) makes it an offence to contravene any requirement or prohibition applied by an improvement notice or prohibition notice.
Penalty
Greenlife Property Developments Ltd was fined £40,000 and ordered to pay £5,812.57 in costs.
Farm partnership fined after a man was killed by an exploding tractor tyre
A farm partnership has been fined after a man died following an incident at a dairy farm in Hutton near Preston.
On 7 May 2021, the man was helping one of the partners in the business to re-seat inflate a large tractor tyre at the farm. As the partner inflated the inner tube within the tyre, it suddenly exploded and the catastrophic release of compressed air propelled the wheel rim into the man, causing traumatic head injuries. The man was taken to hospital and underwent skull and brain surgeries but subsequently passed away after a further deterioration in his condition.
Tyre removal, replacement and inflation should only be tackled by competent staff and HSE guidance is available.
An HSE investigation found that the farm partnership had failed to properly assess and plan this work. They also failed to identify and put in place the measures necessary to control the risks involved when inflating large commercial tyres.
The HSE also found that the risk of an explosion was much higher because the tyre, wheel rim and inner tube were all in a poorly maintained condition. A suitable and sufficient assessment had not been made to determine whether the damaged tyre, inner tube and wheel rim were suitable to be inflated safely.
Breach
W Hesketh and Sons pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974.
Penalty
W Hesketh and Sons was fined £80,000 and ordered to pay £8,605 in costs.
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