Poorly-maintained water jet leads to two incidents in seven days
Two men suffered life-changing injuries within a week of each other, following incidents with a high-pressure water-jetting gun.
On 26 September, Dundee Sheriff Court heard that Hydro Pumps Ltd had been sub-contracted to cut away concrete top sections of the support columns on the Tay Road Bridge, Dundee, to allow engineers to replace worn out bearings.
On 26 July 2007, an employee of Hydro Pumps was working on the bridge. The 27-year-old was using a hand-held water jet gun, when he slipped and fell into the high-pressure concentrated stream of water, which penetrated into his abdomen. He has been unable to return to work since, due to his severe injuries.
The work was immediately suspended pending an internal investigation. However a week later, on 1 August, a second employee who had been brought in to replace the first, lost control of the same gun after it came apart in his hands and shot a jet of water into his knee.
He suffered severe leg injuries, and despite two operations his leg had to be amputated.
An investigation into the two incidents by the HSE and the Crown Office Health and Safety Division, found that Hydro Pumps had failed to conduct a suitable and sufficient risk assessment.
The investigation revealed that the firm had modified the gun by shortening its lance to a length less than recommended by the manufacturers and industry guidance.
The company also failed to maintain safe equipment, and failed to supervise the use of appropriate protective equipment.
The firm were fined £46,500 after pleading guilty to breaching Section 2 of the Health and Safety at Work Etc. Act 1974 by failing to ensure the health and safety of its employees. No costs are awarded in Scotland.
Hydro Pumps Ltd had no previous convictions prior to this prosecution and has since instigated a number of preventative measures including appropriate PPE.
Inadequate PPE left employees exposed to hazardous chemical
An agricultural machinery manufacturer has been fined after an HSE investigation found employees were at risk of developing asthma through the spraying of a hazardous chemical.
Grantham Magistrates' Court heard on 14 October that Marston Agricultural Services Ltd allowed trailers to be sprayed with isocyanate-containing paint, without fully assessing the potential dangers and implementing adequate controls to protect workers from the effects of the chemical.
The failings came to light following an unannounced HSE visit to the company at Toll Bar Road in Marston on 20 June 2011.
Inspectors found that the paint was being sprayed in large quantities, and that the respiratory protective equipment and spray booths were not being used correctly.
The court heart that although staff had been provided with personal protective equipment, the overalls were ripped and the gloves were unsuitable for preventing chemicals from breaking through and infiltrating clothing and skin.
Additionally, the inspectors found that the spray booths had not been maintained properly; they were being used with the doors open and parts of the trailers were protruding into the workshop, meaning there was potential for significant exposure.
The hygiene facilities provided for staff were found to be in an extremely unhygienic condition, so much so, that employees were reluctant to use them. The facilities included an emergency shower that had been broken for years.
Marston Agricultural Services Ltd, of Toll Bar Road, Marston, Grantham, was fined £10,000 and ordered to pay a further £13,420 in costs after pleading guilty to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974.
Company fined £100,000 for corporate manslaughter
J Murray & Son Ltd was fined £100,000, plus £10,450 costs, at Belfast's Laganside Crown Court on the 15 October 2013 for health and safety failings that led to the death of 47 year-old employee Norman Porter.
The conviction follows a joint Police Service of Northern Ireland and Health and Safety Executive for Northern Ireland investigation into the fatal incident, which took place on an animal feed mixing plant owned by J Murray & Son Ltd at Ballygowan, Co. Down on 28 February 2012.
Mr Porter, who had only been working at the company for eight weeks, died after he became entangled in moving parts of a meal blending machine. The investigation revealed that the company had removed safety panels from the top of the mixer to allow raw ingredients to be added more easily. This had the effect of exposing the dangerous moving parts of the machine, which the company failed to identify and correct.
The investigation also revealed that the blender was operated without the safety guards for approximately three years.
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