Exeter firm fined over worker’s injury

Date:

18 October 2011

A visiting worker suffered severe leg injuries when he was hit by a reversing telehandler vehicle at a waste transfer site near Exeter.

Andrew Grist, of Newton Abbot, suffered a detached calf muscle, a near severed toe and broken bones in his foot and was off work for six months after the incident at Kenbury Wood Waste Management Centre.

Leese’s Ltd, the site operator, was fined £4,500 and ordered to pay £818 costs by Exeter magistrates today (18 October) following a prosecution brought by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).

Source: HSE Website

Read More: http://www.hse.gov.uk/press/2011/coi-sw-leesesltd.htm

Teenager killed at old quarry

A 17-year old worker has died after receiving a shock when the mobile elevating work platform he was on contacted overhead power cables. The incident occurred on Thursday afternoon at the disused quarry in Shilton Lane, Brize Norton, Oxfordshire.17th October 2011

Source: http://www.safetynews.co.uk/

Forklift truck broke worker’s legs

A failure to realise the importance of separating working personnel and forklift trucks at its premises led to a serious industrial accident when a 61-year old employee had both his ankles and lower legs broken when a fork lift truck reversed into him at Verplas Ltd’s Dorset site on 9th March 2010.
At Bournemouth Magistrates’ Court Verplas Ltd of  Verwood Industrial Estate, Blackhill, Verwood, Dorset, pleaded guilty to breaching S.2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and was fined £10,000 with costs of £2,407.18th October 2011

Source: http://www.safetynews.co.uk/

Company failed to learn from previous explosion

A 28-year old employee of Multinational manufacturer CEMEX UK Operations Ltd died in a violent explosion on 15th January 2008 at its Rugby cement works. Such was the ferocity of the blast the accident victim was blasted through the side of the building onto the road 10 metres below.
The deceased man was treating waste cement dust in the bypass dust plant and whilst clearing a blockage in the lower mixer the explosion of steam and dust occurred inside the machine. Despite foreknowledge of the circumstances that led to the explosion, a man was injured in May 2006 using the same machine, CEMEX failed to review its risk assessment. It recognised the potential for such blockages to cause explosions as steam pressure built up within the mixer, but it neglected to act to prevent them. Had the company made changes to the mixer to reduce the flow of dust and improve the venting and cooling systems, or devised a new system of work, the accident could have been prevented.
An HSE official commented: “CEMEX’s protection against the build up of pressure was for the plant to be continuously vented when processing waste cement dust, but it frequently blocked. These blockages then caused steam to build up to a high pressure.”
CEMEX Operations UK Ltd of  Egham, Surrey, admitted breaching S.2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 and was fined £200,000 with £172,000 costs.18th October 2011

Source: http://www.safetynews.co.uk/

Runaway chemical reaction caused major incident

A failure to adequately assess the risks of a chemical reaction at a factory producing chemical products for the newspaper, cosmetics, and construction industries, and ensure that suitable control measures were in place, led directly to a major incident on 23rd August 2007. The failure was compounded by the employee responsible for the chemical reaction not having adequate training, instruction and supervision on the operating procedures.
The chemical reaction ran out of control at the premises of Thor Specialities (UK) Ltd in Wincham, Northwich, generating toxic and flammable substances in the production area after the employee added a solid chemical into a vessel containing a liquid chemical. His assumption was that he could safely increase the rate at which the chemical was added when they initially failed to react, but the chemicals reacted too rapidly, leading to an uncontrolled runaway reaction.
An HSE official commented: “It is only luck that none of Thor’s staff were in the production hall at the time of the incident as it’s unlikely they would have been able to escape unharmed without help. They would have been at serious risk from toxic chemical exposure, or a flash fire or explosion, if the flammable vapours released had ignited. They could easily have suffered permanent injuries or even been killed.”
Thor, which operates as a Top Tier site under the Control of Major Accident Hazard Regulations 1999 (COMAH), admitted breaching S.2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 and was fined £25,000 plus prosecution costs of £15,000. 19th October 2011

Source: http://www.safetynews.co.uk/

Incident at Fife landfill site

It is reported that 11 people, 9 workers and 2 paramedics, were taken to hospital yesterday following apparent exposure to and inhalation of nitric acid vapour from a container.
The incident occurred late morning at the Lochhead landfill site near Dunfermline.
Nitric acid is a dangerous substance, it is toxic, corrosive and a powerful oxidising agent. 19th October 2011

Source: http://www.safetynews.co.uk/

Artist died accidentally

A 61-year old stained-glass artist fell 6 metres from a ladder and sustained head injuries to which he later succumbed.A Newcastle inquest considered the circumstances of the accident on 3rd September 2010 at Durham Cathedral and it is unclear why he fell. He was working on the ladder and on scaffolding inside the cathedral to install a large window when he fell backwards, no defects were found with the equipment, the jury determined accidental death.20th October 2011

Source: http://www.safetynews.co.uk/

One dead, 2 critical after nightclub incident

A 22-year old woman lost her life following an incident in the early hours of yesterday at the Lava Ignite nightclub in Northampton. Eight others were injured, with 2 of those listed as critical, the more serious injuries resulting from crushing as those attending apparently rushed to an exit.
The reason why the rush occurred at the 1,600 capacity venue is the subject of much speculation.20th October 2011

Source: http://www.safetynews.co.uk/

Court action for refinery bosses

The owners of Grangemouth’s oil refinery have been accused of breaching health and safety and environmental legislation, it has emerged.

Site operator Ineos faces court action after oil from the plant polluted the River Forth in July and August 2007.

The company also faces action dating from November 2006 when a worker sustained burns as a result of an explosion in the refinery.

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Disabled grandmother wins £1,000 payout from Tesco for discrimination after forecourt staff refuse to pump up her car’s tyres

disabled woman was awarded £1,000 after suing Tesco because it ordered staff not to help pump air into her car tyres, it was revealed today.

Jenni Crowly, 52, from Welland Drive in Connah’s Quay, Deeside, said she was delighted with the result and hoped the supermarket would change its policy nationally.

She sued Tesco under the Disability Discrimination Act after staff at the Mold superstore petrol station refused to check her tyre pressure, saying they wouldn’t be covered by insurance.

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Firm guilty after overhead crane death

Liverpool, UK-based company has been fined £100,000 and ordered to pay £16,941 in costs after a man was killed and another seriously injured when they were struck by a load that fell from an overhead crane.

The UK’s Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has warned of the dangers of allowing cranes to operate over the heads of employees.

MRX Engineering Support Services Ltd., trading as Stackright Building Systems of Charleywood Road, Kirby, was fined at Liverpool Crown Court of breaching S 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 in that it failed to ensure the safety of its employees. The company pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing at Knowsley Magistrates Court.

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HSE Chair’s reminder on leadership agenda

The Chair of the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), Judith Hackitt today reminded board members and senior business directors to put effective health and safety performance high on their agendas. Speaking at Capita Senior Directors’ Health and Safety Briefing in London Ms. Hackitt said, “No matter how good the health and safety system, nor how competent those who manage it, without effective board-level leadership and oversight, the competing demands of running a business can push health and safety into a back seat.”

The Corporate Manslaughter & Corporate Homicide Act, has focused the attention of directors on their responsibilities for health and safety. Now that the Act has entered into force, organisations should be re-examining their health and safety performance – and asking ‘Are our board and board members playing an appropriate and effective role?’”

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Young ‘so vulnerable’ at work

As the British Safety Council says 66 young people have been killed at work in a decade, bereaved parents reflect on their loss and training that could have saved their sons.

“He was a young lad in his first job and he just wanted to please,” says the father of one teenager who died at work.

But 17-year-old apprentice Daniel Dennis never got the chance to prove himself at his new company.

In 2003 Daniel died when he fell 28ft (9m) from a roof and landed on the shop floor.

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Workplace death toll must not be ignored

The equivalent of a jumbo-jet-load of passengers dies every fortnight in Britain because of the failure to ensure safe and healthy conditions in workplaces, RoSPA said as Workers’ Memorial Day (April 28) approaches.

Roger Bibbings, Occupational Safety Adviser for the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents, said: “Because workers rarely die in high-profile disasters, their plight and the silent suffering of their families tends to go unnoticed.

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MAN KILLED IN LIFT TRAGEDY

Man was tragically killed yesterday in a lift shaft.

The fatal incident happened at A &F Carpets, on Bridge Street, Brigg, where it is believed the man got trapped as he tried to dismantle a lift.Humberside Fire and Rescue service group manager Nick Grainger said: “The family were here on the scene. They initially thought he was just injured.

“Very sadly, they had to be told he had died, so it’s been so difficult for them.”

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