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H&S News January 2010
| £280k fine after Cheshire oil worker is paralysed. |
| Shell UK Oil Products Ltd fined £116,666 and costs of £16,204 under LOLER 1998. Dalprop Ltd (formerly S.G. Blair and Co. Ltd) fined £83,000 and costs of £11,115 under LOLER 1998. Hertel UK fined £83,333 and costs of £16,204 under HASAWA 1974 s3. Stephen Rizzotti was working for S.G. Blair and Co. (now Dalprop Ltd) on a refurbishment project at the Shell oil refinery in Cheshire. The company was removing part of the concrete lining of the 'cracker' unit, where crude oil is turned into various chemical components. Mr Rizzotti, who is a father of three, suffered a broken back, two broken legs, a broken pelvis and other injuries when a container carrying 500kg of waste materials fell 30 feet on top of him. The incident was caused by the materials being suspended above a walkway. Mr Rizzotti, 42, who led an active life before the incident, now has to use a wheelchair and is rebuilding his life after being seriously injured at the oil refinery. |
HSE (National) Press Release HSE/NW/027Shell/09 4/1/10 Week ending: 08/01/10 |
| Drivers' health check changes. |
| From 2013 all lorry drivers and drivers of medium sized and large buses in Britain will need to confirm they are medically fit to drive and renew their driving licence every five years. At present, only drivers over the age of 45 need to do so, but new procedures will be introduced for drivers under 45 in order for Britain to comply with new European legislation on driver training, testing, examination and licensing. |
Internet: www.dft.gov.uk/consultations/open/thirddirective RoSPA Occup Safety & Health Journal December 2009:2 Week ending: 08/01/10 |
| On call. |
| The Dept for Communities and Local Government is urging employers to allow their staff to become on-call (retained) firefighters - volunteers who head to their local fire station when there is an emergency call. |
Internet: www.communities.gov.uk/publications/fire/oncallfirefighters RoSPA Occup Safety & Health Journal December 2009:4 Week ending: 08/01/10 |
| Cleaner air. |
| The latest pollution statistics from the Environment Agency reveal that the number of serious pollution incidents in England and Wales fell by 13 per cent during 2008, from 827 in 2007 to 723. |
RoSPA Occup Safety & Health Journal December 2009:4 Week ending: 08/01/10 |
| RoSPA calls for end to H&S hypocrisy. |
| The Chief Executive of RoSPA has called for an end to what he calls "the national hypocrisy on health and safety". Tom Mullarkey told RoSPA's AGM that work to reduce the number of people killed in accidents (at home, on the road and in the workplace) is being set back by an obsession with minor H&S exasperations which diverts attention from accident prevention. |
RoSPA Occup Safety & Health Journal December 2009:5 Week ending: 08/01/10 |
| Lift charges going up for building owners. |
| London Fire Brigade has started charging building owners and managers who persistently call out firefighters to release people trapped in faulty lifts. One in every ten calls received by the Brigade is a non-emergency call to release a person trapped in a lift, the second highest incident type attended, each one taking the fire engine and crew away from any real emergency call. In an effort to reduce theses callouts, the building owners will now have to pay a charge of £260 after the Brigade has attended nine non-emergency callouts at the same building in the same year. |
RoSPA Occup Safety & Health Journal December 2009:5 Week ending: 08/01/10 |
| Lead advice withdrawn. |
| The HSE has withdrawn one of its guidance leaflets on working with lead after concerns that some of the advice contained in it is misleading. The leaflet "Lead and you" was due a periodic review and this has now begun. |
Internet: www.hse.gov.uk/lead RoSPA Occup Safety & Health Journal December 2009:9 Week ending: 08/01/10 |
| Court report. |
| Some recent health and safety prosecutions which followed a failure by the defendants to control the risks from hazardous substances. (Ed Hodson) |
RoSPA Occup Safety & Health Journal December 2009:10-11 Week ending: 08/01/10 |
| Attitude check. |
| Controls such as good housekeeping and cleaning can prevent most slips and trips in the workplace but how much does their success depend on the safety culture in the organisation? (Rebbeca Spencer) |
RoSPA Occup Safety & Health Journal December 2009:13-16 Week ending: 08/01/10 |
| Scene setters. |
| How 3D graphics are being used by H&S investigators and trainers to tell the stories that words alone often cannot fully explain. (Nick Cook) |
RoSPA Occup Safety & Health Journal December 2009:21-24 Week ending: 08/01/10 |
| Double identity. |
| The dual role of occup health professionals who have to satisfy both the requirements of employers and the needs of employees. (Rebecca Elliott) |
RoSPA Occup Safety & Health Journal December 2009:27-29,31 Week ending: 08/01/10 |
| Don't oversimplify accidents. |
| If you really want to prevent accidents you need to investigate and understand their causes as fully as possible. (Roger Bibbings) |
RoSPA Occup Safety & Health Journal December 2009:38-39 Week ending: 08/01/10 |
| International firm fined £35,000 after worker is thrown from vehicle. |
| Tuffnells Parcels Express Ltd fined £5,134 under HASAWA 1974 s2. Michael Tierney, 53, was nearing the end of a night shift at the company's depot. His job involved unloading the HGVs that brought parcels to the distribution centre, sorting for local delivery and then loading onto smaller delivery lorries. The incoming and outgoing vehicles were reverse parked in loading bays, connected to the sorting centre by manual loading ramps. Mr Tierney was still in the back of one of the smaller lorries when the driver unexpectedly pulled away from the loading dock. He fell from the rear of the vehicle, from a height of about four feet, and fractured his thigh bone when he landed on the ground. |
HSE (National) Press Release HSE-E-44 21/12/09 Week ending: 08/01/10 |
| Oldbury employer fined after worker fell through roof. |
| Ian Brian Griffiths, 41, fined a total of £3,500 and costs of £1,408 under WHR 2005 and HASAWA 1974 s3. Craig Richard Thomas, 35, and Paul Anthony Leggett, 28, were working on the roof of industrial units and were employed as subcontractors by Mr Griffiths, who had been contracted to repair the building. Mr Leggett was on the roof, he lost his balance on a crawling board and fell 26 feet through the roof onto a concrete floor. He suffered a broken ankle, wrist and nose in the fall. |
HSE (National) Press Release WM514/09 21/12/09 Week ending: 08/01/10 |
| Fuel terminal operator fined £50,000 after petrol spill in Essex. |
| Vopack London Terminal BV Limited fined £50,000 and costs of £19,136 under COMAH 1999. A road tanker overflowed when a shut-off valve failed. The valve at the fuel storage terminal was blocked by debris, preventing it from closing, so a large pool of petrol formed putting the safety of both terminal workers and tanker drivers at risk. The company did not adequately assess and prevent the risk created by the valve failure and failed to appropriately manage the risks created by the leak. |
HSE (National) Press Release HSE-E-44 22/12/09 Week ending: 08/01/10 |
| Employers asked to make New Year safety resolution. |
| Employers across the country are being asked to ensure their workers are kept safe in 2010 as Britain's safety watchdog urges improvement on last year. According to the HSE, last year over 2,500 work related incidents occurred across the country each week, an annual total of over 130,000 being killed or injured. |
HSE (National) Press Releases 29/12/09 Week ending: 08/01/10 |
| Firm fined £16,000 after worker's 5 metre plunge. |
| ECH Ltd t/a Maple Timber Frames fined £16,000 and costs of £5,000 under HASAWA 1974 s2 and s3. A self-employed timber frame erector subcontracted to the company, was working at height on a self-build project, when he fell some five metres to the bottom of an inadequately covered stairwell. He suffered multiple fractures, including his skull. A colleague working with the injured man was unharmed in the incident. |
HSE (South East) Press Release 6/1/10 Week ending: 08/01/10 |
| Pontrilas Timber & Builders Merchants Ltd |
| Fined £3,500 under PUWER 1998. Failure to guard pallet making machine resulting in RIDDOR major injury. |
HSE Prosecution 4146054 12/10/09 Week ending: 08/01/10 |
| The Governing Body of the Giles School |
| Fined a total of £16,500 under RIDDOR 1995 and HASAWA 1974 s3. Accident to sixth form student. |
HSE Prosecution 4148443 12/10/09 Week ending: 08/01/10 |
| Mr Philip Thompson |
| Fined £10,000 under PUWER 1998. Prosecution of Mr Thompson as Operations Director of Butchers Pet Care Ltd because he failed to prevent access to dangerous parts of a palletiser/depalletiser machine. An employee is thought to have entered the machine to correct a mis-alignment of a pallet sustaining fatal crush injuries. Failure to ensure effective guarding. |
HSE Prosecution 4150227 12/10/09 Week ending: 08/01/10 |
| Tex Engineering Ltd |
| Fined £10,000 under HASAWA 1974 s6. IP was using a Trojan asphalt mixer when he accidentally knocked a small baton of wood into the drum of the machine. As he reached into the drum to retrieve the wood, his right hand became entangled in the rotating mixing paddles resulting in the amputation of four fingers and most of his thumb. |
HSE Prosecution 4170163 12/10/09 Week ending: 08/01/10 |
| West Midlands Installations Limited |
| Fined £10,000 under HASAWA 1974 s2. An employee was injured after falling 3m from the first floor of a racking unit. Failure to provide and maintain a system of work during the construction of a storage racking system that was safe and without risks to health. |
HSE Prosecution 4175239 12/10/09 Week ending: 08/01/10 |
| Volkerfitzpatrick Limited |
| Fined £6,000 under HASAWA 1974 s3. DP died as a result of falling from the roof of a temporary PVC clad hangar during dismantling work. |
HSE Prosecution 4182836 13/10/09 Week ending: 08/01/10 |
| Bowes of Norfolk Limited |
| Fined a total of £24,000 under HASAWA 1974 s2, MHSWR 1999 and EWR 1989. Electric shock of Craig Payne. Damien Rettallick also injured. |
HSE Prosecution 4088239 14/10/09 Week ending: 08/01/10 |
| Gary Wright |
| Fined £5,985 under HASAWA 1974 s2. Prosecution of Director by virtue of s37 of the same Act. Employee injured whilst working on scaffolding when a scaffold tube touched live overhead cables. |
HSE Prosecution 4161338 14/10/09 Week ending: 08/01/10 |
| G Wright Scaffolding Ltd |
| Fined £5,985 under HASAWA 1974 s2. Employee injured whilst working on scaffolding when a scaffold tube touched live overhead cables. |
HSE Prosecution 4161346 14/10/09 Week ending: 08/01/10 |
| Manor Homes (Midlands) Limited |
| Fined £11,985 under HASAWA 10974 s3. |
HSE Prosecution 4178258 14/10/09 Week ending: 08/01/10 |
| Southwark Council |
| Fined £20,000 under HASAWA 1974 s3. This case did result from the investigation of a fatality. |
HSE Prosecution 4179022 14/10/09 Week ending: 08/01/10 |
| Huntapac Produce Ltd |
| Fined a total of £5,000 under MHSWR 1999 and EWR 1989. Two employees were lifting a metal ladder into a water pump shaft when it made contact with the overhead power lines. One man fell unconscious and suffered burns to his feet and a hand, the other man's feet were also badly burned. Failure to assess the health and safety risks sufficiently and allowing its employees to carry out work in a potentially dangerous manner. |
HSE Prosecution 4133643 15/10/09 Week ending: 08/01/10 |
| G Baskerville Limited |
| Fined £8,000 under HASAWA 1974 s2. During demolition of a steel portal framed building, the injured person fell from mezzanine floor through inadequate edge protection onto ground below. Inadequate planning for demolition in terms of sequencing etc. |
HSE Prosecution 4174156 16/10/09 Week ending: 08/01/10 |
| Pontiac Coil - Europe Ltd |
| Fined a total of £10,000 under WHR 2005. During dismantling of a floor section by section, the injured person fell from the remaining structure, hitting his face on the stairs on the way down. |
HSE Prosecution 4147592 19/10/09 Week ending: 08/01/10 |
| Ineos Manufacturing Scotland Limited |
| Fined a total of £1,500 under HASAWA 1974 s3 and s33. Lee Hagart struck HV cable with jackhammer during breaking out of concrete using the pneumatic tool. Damage was sustained to the 3.3kv cable leading to an electrical short circuit and subsequent G4 plant trip. Failure to take steps to ensure a safe system of work. |
HSE Prosecution 4081878 20/10/09 Week ending: 08/01/10 |
| Orica UK Limited |
| Fined £10,000 under HASAWA 1974 s2. |
HSE Prosecution 4183185 20/10/09 Week ending: 08/01/10 |
| Tim Philpott |
| Fined £7,500 under HASAWA 1974 s2. Working in valley of roof, removing slates at height of 2.8 metres on 6" x 1" close boarded roof. Access holes being cut in pitched roof to facilitate the loading of slates in telescopic handler bucket. It would appear he cut the top of one of the boards and then fell through the hole with it. |
HSE Prosecution 4183739 22/10/09 Week ending: 08/01/10 |
| R J Bateman (Engineering) Ltd |
| Fined a total of £65,000 under HASAWA 1974 s2 and s3, and RIDDOR 1995. An inexperienced member of staff set up to weld on a modified 200 litre drum, subsequently found to contain highly flammable liquids. Employee sustained fatal injuries in resulting explosion. Disposal of HFLs not properly controlled, drums routinely modified to store waste materials but not correctly labelled, drum not suitable as makeshift workbench, no assessment, unsafe system of work. |
HSE Prosecution 4102963 23/10/09 Week ending: 08/01/10 |
| Jason John Bateman |
| Fined £10,000 under HASAWA 1974 s37. Fatal accident at Bateman Engineering. Employee fatally injured whilst welding on modified drum, subsequently found to contain highly flammable liquids. Investigation identified long-standing failure to manage risks in workplace, inadequate H&S system and lack of management control. |
HSE Prosecution 4149032 23/10/09 Week ending: 08/01/10 |
| Richard John Bateman |
| Fined £10,000 under HASAWA 1974 s37. Fatal accident at Bateman Engineering. Employee fatally injured whilst welding on modified drum, subsequently found to contain highly flammable liquids. Investigation identified long-standing failure to manage risks in workplace, inadequate H&S system and lack of management control. |
HSE Prosecution 4149036 23/10/09 Week ending: 08/01/10 |
| Damon Alex McLachlan |
| Fined £500 under HASAWA 1974 s7. Operator of a telescopic handler involved in accident which resulted in serious injuries to another employee on site. |
HSE Prosecution 4110581 23/10/09 Week ending: 08/01/10 |
| Fox Feeds Ltd |
| Fined £5,000 under HASAWA 1974 s2. Employee injured whilst operating machinery. Inadequate electrical power isolation procedure, inadequate provision of fixed interlock guarding, inadequate information/instruction to employees regarding the correct power isolation procedure, inadequate training to workers and IP with regard to a secure power isolation procedure. |
HSE Prosecution 4174391 23/10/09 Week ending: 08/01/10 |
| Anglo-Norden Forest Products Ltd |
| Fined £3,000 under HASAWA 1974 s3. Storage of timber on quayside and use of workplace transport on roadway area. Proactive prosecution re public safety, lack of measures to protect the public. |
HSE Prosecution 4104460 26/10/09 Week ending: 08/01/10 |
| Industrial and Commercial Building Services Ltd |
| Fined £2,000 under HASAWA 1974 s2. No Sep Penalty under Asbestos (Licensing) Regs. Industrial and Commercial Building Services Ltd (ICBS) were hired to demolish part of Racon Packaging Ltd's plant after it had been damaged by fire. The building included substantial amounts of asbestos but ICBS was not licensed to remove it. The company should have made sure that the premises were free from asbestos before starting work. They allowed workers to break up materials using hammers, crowbars and power tools, without wearing suitable protective equipment. |
HSE Prosecution 4118626 27/10/09 Week ending: 08/01/10 |
| Recon Packaging Limited |
| Fined £3,000 under CAWR 2002. Recon Packaging Ltd hired Industrial and Commercial Building Services Ltd (ICBS) to demolish part of its plant after it had been severely damaged by fire. The building included substantial amounts of asbestos but no site assessment was carried out. |
HSE Prosecution 4118629 27/10/09 Week ending: 08/01/10 |
| Kevin Bennett |
| Fined £2,000 under HASAWA 1974 s2. No Sep Penalty under Asbestos (Licensing) Regs. Industrial and Commercial Building Services Ltd (ICBS) were hired by Racon Packaging Ltd to demolish part of its plant after it had been damaged by fire. The building included substantial amounts of asbestos but no site assessment was carried out and ICBS was not licensed to remove it. ICBS and Kevin Bennett should have made sure that the premises were free from asbestos before starting work and they allowed workers to break up materials using hammers, crowbars and power tools, without wearing suitable protective equipment. Kevin Bennett was the Managing Director of ICBS at the time. |
HSE Prosecution 4118632 27/10/09 Week ending: 08/01/10 |
| A Nicoll & Son Limited |
| Fined £2,500 under WHR 2005. Employees of the company were cleaning windows at Lincoln College and it was found the job was not properly planned, appropriately supervised, or carried out in a manner which was so far as reasonably practicable safe. |
HSE Prosecution 4158604 27/10/09 Week ending: 08/01/10 |
| Leonard Gibson |
| Fined £10,000 under HASAWA 1974 s2. DP was assisting with the lifting of 6m RSJ. Someone let go of RSJ and it dropped landing on DP causing him fatal head injuries. |
HSE Prosecution 4168984 27/10/09 Week ending: 08/01/10 |
| Tower Scaffolding (South West) |
| Fined a total of £3,000 under CHSWR 1996 and PUWER 1998. 50m section of independent tube and fitting scaffolding collapsed into Dart Marina overnight. No-one present at time. Reason for collapse identified as insufficient stabilisation of scaffold due to inadequate tying into the building. Tie pattern changed as building developed. Independent report identified failure due to over-stressing of mechanical ties present. Mechanical wall ties were not strength tested prior to use and investigation established that many were not set properly at the point of installation. No training of operatives in relation to setting of mechanical ties. |
HSE Prosecution 4170813 28/10/09 Week ending: 08/01/10 |
| Dean & Dyball Civil Engineering Limited |
| Fined a total of £5,000 under CHSWR 1996 and PUWER 1998. The company were the Principal Contractor on site. 50m section of independent tube and fitting scaffolding collapsed into Dart Marina overnight. No-one present at time. Reason for collapse identified as insufficient stabilisation of scaffold due to inadequate tying into the building. Tie pattern changed as building developed. Independent report identified failure due to over-stressing of mechanical ties present. Mechanical wall ties were not strength tested prior to use and investigation established that many were not set properly at the point of installation. No training of operatives in relation to setting of mechanical ties. |
HSE Prosecution 4175885 28/10/09 Week ending: 08/01/10 |
| Ms Helen J Beckett |
| Fined a total of £1,000 under GSIUR 1998 and HASAWA 1974 s33. Failure of landlord to ensure that landlord gas safety record was in place for the property. Failure to comply with notice. |
HSE Prosecution 4173627 28/10/09 Week ending: 08/01/10 |
| North East Essex Primary Care Trust |
| Fined £10,000 under HASAWA 1974 s3. Prosecution as a result of a patient falling from a first floor window not sufficiently restricted. |
HSE Prosecution 4155139 29/10/09 Week ending: 08/01/10 |
| Ian Malcolm Cross |
| Fined a total of £5,000 under HASAWA 1974 s2 and s3. Ian Malcolm Cross, Director Eco-Oil Ltd. Eco-Oil Limited, being an employer, failed to ensure the health and safety and welfare of all its employees. |
HSE Prosecution 4130913 30/10/09 Week ending: 08/01/10 |
| Eco-Oil Limited |
| Fined a total of £125,000 under HASAWA 1974 s3 and s2. Eco-Oil Limited, being an employer, failed to ensure the health and safety and welfare of all its employees. |
HSE Prosecution 4130940 30/10/09 Week ending: 08/01/10 |
| New Look wears £400,000 FSO fine. |
| New Look fined a record £400,000 fine and £136,052 costs under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 (FSO). It followed a blaze which destroyed its store in Oxford Street, London. The fire broke out in a second floor store room while around 150 customers were in the shop. Though an alarm sounded, the fire was allowed to spread as staff ignored the warning and continued working. The alarm was mysteriously deactivated but even when it went off again, staff didn't react. Inadequate fire risk assessment (which did not even include the procedure to follow if the fire alarm went off), failure to train staff in fire safety. The staff's lack of training meant they didn't know how to react to a fire signal or how to empty the building correctly. They did not use the fire exits which resulted in all the customers escaping through the front entrance - directly beneath the fire. |
HSW January 2010:5 Week ending: 15/01/10 |
| Fines for restaurant manager and property firm. |
| In the first instance, Mr Wei Chen was ordered to pay more than £7,000 in fines and costs after admitting guilt in relation to 10 contraventions of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005. Mr Chen was manager of Kan's Chinese and Thai Cuisine when LFB inspectors visited the premises and issued an enforcement notice that required Mr Chen, as responsible person, to remedy faults. A follow-up inspection nearly a year later found that all of the failures were still evident. In the second instance, Solitaire Property Management Ltd was fined a total of £1,500 and costs of £2,000 after pleading guilty to two offences. The company failed to respond to a number of requests from the fire service relating to a premises known as Sundowner Block. |
Fire Risk Management December 2009:4 Week ending: 15/01/10 |
| Sales advice. |
| The impact of the Fire Safety Order on shopping centres - including their design and management, and the interface between owners and retail tenants - is outlined in new guidance. (FRM) |
Fire Risk Management December 2009:10-13 Week ending: 15/01/10 |
| Out of range. |
| How often are engineering tools not adapted to designer needs? A survey of the University of Edinburgh campus underlines the narrow design fire specifications of the Eurocodes for many new buildings. (A Jonsdottir and G Rein) |
Fire Risk Management December 2009:14-17 Week ending: 15/01/10 |
| Single living. |
| Focusing on single-stair high-rise residential and office buildings, a comparison of the regulatory approaches taken in England and Germany. (Karl Wallasch and Boris Stock) |
Fire Risk Management December 2009:19-23 Week ending: 15/01/10 |
| Certified support. |
| Focusing on steel beams and passive protection in extreme events, an argument that the current lack of mandatory certification in the UK is undermining aspirations for fire safety. (Bill Parlor) |
Fire Risk Management December 2009:24-27 Week ending: 15/01/10 |
| Public control. |
| Smoke control in public buildings is essential for protecting lives and property. How an integrated approach to fire systems is the way forward. (Lee Hewings) |
Fire Risk Management December 2009:27-31 Week ending: 15/01/10 |
| Unlocking the past. |
| Incorporating modern fire safety designs into heritage buildings poses numerous challenges for fire engineers. (Charles Betts) |
Fire Risk Management December 2009:37-40 Week ending: 15/01/10 |
| Historic plans. |
| The need for historic buildings to have a fire safety management plan to support risk assessments and safety measures is outlined. (Peter Barker) |
Fire Risk Management December 2009:41-43 Week ending: 15/01/10 |
| City chambers. |
| Balancing heritage and safety was a prime consideration during the fire engineering analysis for the St Pancras Chambers in London. (Will Marshall and Ben Atkinson) |
Fire Risk Management December 2009:44-46 Week ending: 15/01/10 |
| Advance to go. |
| Advances in fire technology could see an end to fires in heritage buildings. (Martin Phillips) |
Fire Risk Management December 2009:47-48 Week ending: 15/01/10 |
| Saltram solution. |
| Upgrading the detection system at the historic Saltram House involved a hybrid solution integrating hard-wired and radio devices. (Rick Lowe) |
Fire Risk Management December 2009:49-50 Week ending: 15/01/10 |
| Experts pan Tory safety culture attack. |
| Legal experts, safety bodies and unions have joined in questioning the substance behind the Conservative leader, David Cameron's planned campaign to end what he called the "over the top culture of health and safety and compensation". The campaign includes a review of the HSE's work and a test of all current H&S laws. Mr Cameron condemned the perception of a compensation culture which he has said led to excessive curbs on moderately risky activities and unnecessarily detailed guidance at local level. |
HSW January 2010:4 Week ending: 15/01/10 |
| Coach crash duo jailed for manslaughter. |
| Robert Oughton jailed for five years and three months for causing death by dangerous driving and gross negligence manslaughter. John Lote jailed for three years for gross negligence manslaughter. Oughton and Lote, partners in travel firm 1.4.You Coaches, had failed to maintain a coach properly and had ignored warnings to fix brake faults. The coach was involved in a crash after Oughton lost control when he started down a steep 17% hill, careered through red traffic lights and hit a VW. The occupants of the VW, Paul and Deborah Clements, were killed instantly. The cause of the crash was acute brake failure due to poor maintenance. |
HSW January 2010:4 Week ending: 15/01/10 |
| Seven-year-old died in roof fall. |
| Lovell Partnerships fined £75,000 and costs of £46,109 under HASAWA 1974 s3. Lovell had been refurbishing an apartment block. The scaffolding used had not been removed soon enough after work had finished and, although the lower ladder had been removed, access could still be made by jumping on to the structure from balconies on either side or by climbing up the first section of scaffold. Local children took advantage of this to get on the roof of the building three floors up, where they made a den. A seven-year-old boy fell to his death from the roof. |
HSW January 2010:9 Week ending: 15/01/10 |
| Uneven floor costs Poundland equivalent of 14,000 items. |
| Poundland fined £14,000 and costs of £2,505 under HASAWA 1974 after a pensioner fractured her wrist when she tripped over damaged tiles at one of its stores. The company had been aware of the damaged items for a period of 10 months prior to the accident. |
HSW January 2010:10 Week ending: 15/01/10 |
| Bullied workers receive six-figure payouts. |
| Two sacked victims of workplace bullying and harassment received payouts totalling more than £1 million last month after employment tribunals ruled against their employers. Matt Driscoll was awarded £792,736 - he was sacked whilst on long-term sick-leave for stress related depression and had been the victim of a consistent pattern of bullying behaviour. Pauline Scanlon was awarded £442,466 in compensation for loss of earning, injury to her feeling, pension losses and expenses. She had blown the whistle on her employer for failing to follow their own equal opportunities policy after they appointed an HR manager without advertising the post, they then started a two-year campaign of harassment against her. |
HSW January 2010:11 Week ending: 15/01/10 |
| CIOB claims safety is weathering the slump. |
| More than four in five senior construction professionals say the recession has not adversely affected H&S compliance in their organisations, according to new research from the Chartered Institute of Building. |
HSW January 2010:11 Week ending: 15/01/10 |
| Total pleads guilty to Buncefield charges. |
| Total UK has submitted guilty pleas to H&S and environmental failings which contributed to the Buncefield explosions and fire in 2005. At a pre-trial hearing in November, Total entered written pleas to two charges under Sections 2 and 3 of HASAWA 1974 for failing to protect its employees and others, and one under the Water Resources Act for polluting an aquifer under the Hemel Hempstead site. The case against them is expected to come to court in April 2010. |
HSW January 2010:14 Week ending: 15/01/10 |
| Legislative calendar. |
| Calendar of new and upcoming legislation. |
HSW January 2010:14 Week ending: 15/01/10 |
| Pay survey. |
| More than 800 H&S practitioners gave HSW details of their pay and benefits for this year's salary poll. (Lois Wustemann) |
HSW January 2010:24-26,28 Week ending: 15/01/10 |
| Lone rangers. |
| The systems behind alarms and contact devices for workers in hazardous places. (Dave Merchant) |
HSW January 2010:30-32 Week ending: 15/01/10 |
| HAVS and HAV nots. |
| A companion piece to the article in September's issue on how to ensure vibration data is accurate:- the components of a HAVS management programme. (Peter Wilson) |
HSW January 2010:34-36 Week ending: 15/01/10 |
| Site specifics: safe trips. |
| From avoiding DVT to personal security, a look at what's most helpful on the web. (Bridget Leathley) |
HSW January 2010:38-40 Week ending: 15/01/10 |
| Essential reading. |
| Why the nuts and bolts of the Machinery Directive matter to safety practitioners. (Paul Laidler) |
HSW January 2010:41-42 Week ending: 15/01/10 |
| The trainer's toolkit: board games. |
| Advice on using flipcharts and whiteboards. (Paul Smith) |
HSW January 2010:43 Week ending: 15/01/10 |
| Keeping alive a new year's resolution for farmers. |
| Farmers are being encouraged to make their New Year's resolution a promise to come home safe from the fields. The HSE has launched the next phase in its 'Make the Promise' campaign with the stark message that people are still dying in needless farm accidents. |
HSE (National) Press Release 118/2010 11/1/10 Week ending: 15/01/10 |
| Plastics firm fined after Liverpool worker loses four fingers. |
| Centriforce fined £2,438 under PUWER 1998. Wesley Dickinson, 22, had been trying to remove a jam in the guillotine when his fingers became trapped. Doctors were unable to reattach two of his four fingers and he now has limited movement in his right hand. |
HSE (National) Press Release HSE/NW/046Centriforce/09 11/1/10 Week ending: 15/01/10 |
| Leicester company fined for huge fire risk. |
| A M Widdowson & Son Ltd fined a total of £5,000 and costs of £4,900 under COMAH 1999 and HASAWA 1974 s2. The haulage company was prosecuted for creating a massive fire risk by illegally storing huge quantities of highly flammable aerosols. The HSE found the firm had not properly managed the risks associated with storing large amounts of aerosol products at their site. The company stored large amounts of LPG (liquefied petroleum gas) for around 7 months. It failed to notify the authorities of its operations on site, did not complete a risk assessment and then failed to implement many good practices recognised by industry. |
HSE (National) Press Release HSE/EM10 11/1/10 Week ending: 15/01/10 |
| Collapse of East London building leads to £10,000 fine. |
| Citytex UK Ltd, fined £10,000 and costs of £35,000 under HASAWA 1974 s2 and s3. Also £200 each to 4 people who were in a building when it collapsed. Buildings in Tower Hamlets, London were undergoing construction works. The company's employees were working throughout the building while builders were on the site. A large gap had been made in the brick work and chimneybreasts had been removed from first floor level at the front of the building. The front elevation collapsed, dropping large amounts of debris onto the pavement nearby. The scaffolding at the front of the property fell onto a lamp post preventing the bulk of the rubble landing on passers-by and on the road. The HSE found that plans for the work had been drawn up by architects and structural consultants. The Managing Director of Citytex UK Ltd was acting as the principal contractor and was being assisted by his teenage son. There was no construction phase plan and the architect was not aware that any work was being carried out on the first floor and HSE had not been notified that any improvement work was taking place. No one was killed or injured in the collapse. |
HSE (National) Press Release COILDN/0101 12/1/10 Week ending: 15/01/10 |
| Prosecution launched against a high street retailer and four contractors for exposing people to asbestos during refurbishment. |
| HSE has initiated criminal proceedings against Marks and Spencer plc and four other companies for asbestos-related breaches during refurbishment work at various shops where staff and members of the public were exposed to asbestos fibres. Marks and Spencer plc pleaded not guilty under HASAWA 1974 s2 and s3. Styles and Wood Ltd pleaded guilty under HASAWA 1974 s2 and s3. Willmott Dixon Construction Ltd entered no plea under HASAWA 1974 s2 and s3. PA Realisations Ltd (formally Pectel Ltd) was not represented under CAWR 2002. A committal hearing date has been set for Tuesday 9 February 2010. A fifth company, Clarence Contractors Ltd, was prosecuted and sentenced in relation to asbestos removal. The company, which is in terminal liquidation was fined a total of £200 and costs of £100 under CAWR 2002. |
HSE (National) Press Release COISE/0201 12/1/10 Week ending: 15/01/10 |
| BAE Systems fined £80,000 after explosion kills Lancashire worker. |
| BAE Systems Land Systems (Munitions and Ordnance) Ltd fined £80,000 and ordered to pay £118,000 towards the cost of the prosecution under HASAWA 1974 s2. Mrs Lynda Wilkins was working with lead styphnate, a sensitive primary explosive, when she was killed. HSE has been unable to establish the exact cause of the explosion as Mrs Wilkins was working alone. The HSE investigation found the company allowed unsafe working procedures to develop by providing too little supervision and monitoring. |
HSE (National) Press Release HSE/NW/038BAE 14/1/10 Week ending: 15/01/10 |
| £80,000 fine following young man's crush death. |
| Macob Administration Limited fined £40,000 and costs of £29,798.14 under PUWER 1998. Lance Taylor, 23, was killed while working on a construction site. He was driving a mini digger, which he was not qualified to operate, and unintentionally hit a lever as he learned out of the cab window. The digging arm of the vehicle was raised, crushing his head between the cab and the arm. He suffered fatal injuries and was pronounced dead on site. |
HSE (National) Press Release 655/SWW/10 15/1/10 Week ending: 15/01/10 |
| Icethaw Salt Supplies Ltd |
| Fined £3,000 under PUWER 1998. An inexperienced operative suffered a broken right arm whilst operating unguarded machinery. |
HSE Prosecution 4183536 2/11/09 Week ending: 15/01/10 |
| Tulip Limited |
| Fined £65,000 under HASAWA 1974 s2. Employee had nail bed crushed on her right hand following accident on form fill and seal machine. No SSW from web changes and employee had not had full instruction. Machine also not guarded to relevant standard despite previous advice. |
HSE Prosecution 4103509 4/11/09 Week ending: 15/01/10 |
| Anglo Adhesives and Services Ltd |
| Fined a total of £15,000 under DSEAR 2002 and HASAWA 1974 s3. |
HSE Prosecution 4180653 4/11/09 Week ending: 15/01/10 |
| Veetee Rice Ltd |
| Fined £140,000 under PUWER 1998. Fatal accident to an employee who became entangled in an under floor screw conveyor in a large rice silo. Easy access was gained to an area of the workplace where a dangerous part of a machine was still running. Company prosecuted for failing to prevent access to a dangerous part of a machine. |
HSE Prosecution 4094158 5/11/09 Week ending: 15/01/10 |
| Butchers Pet Care Ltd |
| Fined £100,000 under HASAWA 1974 s2. Employee sustained fatal crush injuries in a palletising machine. It is thought that he entered the machine to correct a mis-alignment of a pallet. Guarding around the palletiser was deficient to the extent that it allowed persons to enter without isolating the machine. The machine required frequent attendance to deal with problems and it had become common for employees and supervisors to access the machine through the hole in the guard. The deficiencies in the guard and associated dangerous practice were long standing and known to the company. |
HSE Prosecution 4106403 5/11/09 Week ending: 15/01/10 |
| Sandvik Holdings Ltd |
| Fined £14,000 under HASAWA 1974 s2. Guilty under PSSR 2000. Release of dangerous substances from ball mill. |
HSE Prosecution 4161182 5/11/09 Week ending: 15/01/10 |
| Integrated Packaging Ltd |
| Fined £1,000 under PUWER 1998. IP became caught in a running nip created between the suction and delivery conveyor belts of a Kohmann 1440 window patcher. He suffered a friction burn and fracture to his left wrist. There was no guard to prevent access to dangerous part. |
HSE Prosecution 4170533 5/11/09 Week ending: 15/01/10 |
| Colin Parker Masonry Ltd |
| Fined a total of £3,000 under HASAWA 1974 s2 and s3. Employee injured whilst unloading marble slabs from a lorry. The load moved after being unstrapped from the A Frame, trapping the employee, who had his arm amputated at the scene. Company did not have a suitable and sufficient risk assessment for unloading at customer's premises. Members of public were at risk from further falls of slabs when attending to injured person. |
HSE Prosecution 4171777 5/11/09 Week ending: 15/01/10 |
| SGB Services Limited |
| Fined a total of £30,000 under HASAWA 1974 s6 and s3. Two employees injured (1 fatally, 1 seriously) when part of a car park structure collapsed, resulting in a fall of 17 metres. |
HSE Prosecution 4147432 6/11/09 Week ending: 15/01/10 |
| Laing O'Rourke Infrastructure Limited |
| Fined £75,000 under HASAWA 1974 s3. Two employees injured (1 fatally, 1 seriously) when part of a car park structure collapsed, resulting in a fall of 17 metres. |
HSE Prosecution 4147464 6/11/09 Week ending: 15/01/10 |
| Autopa Ltd |
| Fined £3,000 under PUWER 1998. Employee had finger amputated while drilling unclamped work piece when the glove he was wearing became entangled in the drill bit. Trip device incorrectly located at 180 degrees from the operator position and so not activated in time to prevent amputation. Management unaware of unsafe system of work (drilling work pieces unclamped) or that employees were wearing gloves. |
HSE Prosecution 4168812 6/11/09 Week ending: 15/01/10 |
| £100,000 fine after disabled teenager fatally scalded. |
| Lifeways Community Care Ltd fined £100,000 and costs of £45,000 under HASAWA 1974 s3. Ms Yelena Hasselberg-Langley, 18, suffered severe burns when she was lowered into an excessively hot bath. She required 24-hour care, was registered blind, paraplegic and had epilepsy. She was taken to hospital before being transferred to a specialist burns unit where she died. The HSE investigation found that although the bath was fitted with a special valve to prevent scalding, this valve had never been set. In addition to this, staff had no training in the risks of scalding and there was no bath thermometer. |
HSE (National) Press Release HSE119/2010 22/1/10 Week ending: 22/01/10 |
| Employment agencies slammed for failing to vet asbestos work. |
| A cluster of employment agencies have been found skimping on their legal asbestos duties by the Employment Agency Standards inspectorate. 11 agencies were censured after the EAS caught them advertising for asbestos removal workers without having properly checked the H&S implications. |
Safety Management December 2009:7 Week ending: 22/01/10 |
| Rita educates on construction safety. |
| Rita Donaghy, whose Government-commissioned report "One death too many" suggested ways of reducing the toll of fatalities in construction, gave the keynote speech at the BSC's recent construction conference. Why her 28 recommendations are so important. (SM) |
Safety Management December 2009:10-12 Week ending: 22/01/10 |
| Offshore company on form with safety. |
| As a provider of specialist services to some of the world's major oil and gas exploration companies, Aker Qserv faces a tough challenge in keeping its staff and operations safe. How the company achieves this. (Joanna Gurman) |
Safety Management December 2009:31-34 Week ending: 22/01/10 |
| Being skinned alive. |
| Awareness of the steps to take to protect employees' skin from exposure to chemicals and other harmful substances has improved in recent years. However, many of the efforts made could be in vain due to a poor understanding of how to assess the risks. (Chris Packham) |
Safety Management December 2009:43-46 Week ending: 22/01/10 |
| It's in their hands. |
| Employers often face real problems getting workers to wear protective gloves, but a more subtle focus on what could happen in people's personal lives could pay dividends. (John Thorne) |
Safety Management December 2009:49-50 Week ending: 22/01/10 |
| Blacklisting to be outlawed. |
| Legislation to ban blacklisting of trade union members which has been announced by the Government needs to have the specifics and the coverage to make it effective, say unions. The proposed regulations will ban employers from blacklisting workers by their trade union membership or activities. |
RoSPA Occup Safety & Health Bulletin December 2009:1 Week ending: 22/01/10 |
| Training time. |
| Employees will soon have the legal right to request time at work to undertake training thanks to new legislation. The Apprenticeship, Skills, Children and Learning Act 2009 sets out how the "time to train" initiative will operate. Employees will be able to request to undertake both accredited courses that lead to a qualification and unaccredited training. |
RoSPA Occup Safety & Health Bulletin December 2009:2 Week ending: 22/01/10 |
| Firms fined for massive fuel leak. |
| Conoco Phillips Ltd fined £16,000 and costs of £3,373. SGS (UK) Ltd fined £20,000 and costs of £5,000. Both companies were fined following a huge petrol leak which polluted groundwater and posed a threat to public safety. |
RoSPA Safety Express January/February 2010:2 Week ending: 22/01/10 |
| Getting in on the act. |
| Drama is increasingly being used as a way to deliver health and safety training. A look at how this approach can engage workers' hearts and minds. (Tess Allen) |
RoSPA Safety Express January/February 2010:5 Week ending: 22/01/10 |
| Paramedic disabled by fall. |
| A former paramedic has been awarded £200,000 in compensation for becoming permanently disabled when he fell after his equipment bag got caught on a door handle. He was visiting a patient when his bag caught on the front door handle and afterwards was diagnosed with a chronic shoulder injury. This became worse and he has had to take early retirement. He had previously complained about the safety risks of carrying 60lbs of emergency equipment in the bulky shoulder bags, which had replaced the rucksacks which were originally used. The rucksacks have now been reinstated. |
RoSPA Safety Express January/February 2010:6 Week ending: 22/01/10 |
| Compensation for eye injury. |
| A factory worker has received £100,000 in damages after a corrosive chemical dripped onto his face causing permanent eye damage. The incident occurred at Ciba Speciality Chemicals Ltd. Sodium hydroxide was leaking from a broken pipe at the factory, which produces chemicals for a number of products. It dripped into the worker's right eye, causing permanent damage to the cornea. His eyelid turned inwards and he had to have surgery to remove the hair follicles. He now has reduced sight in his eye and has had to take early retirement. |
RoSPA Safety Express January/February 2010:7 Week ending: 22/01/10 |
| Care home death. |
| Abdulaziz Kachra fined £12,000 and costs of £17,500 under HASAWA 1974. Florence O'Connor died after falling from a window at Mr Kachra's care home. The window had been fitted with suitable restrictors but they had not been properly maintained and failed to work. It is thought they were not re-connected after repair work. |
RoSPA Safety Express January/February 2010:7 Week ending: 22/01/10 |
| Worker falls through light onto machine. |
| Tooms Brothers (1994) Ltd fined £7,500 and costs of £350 under HASAWA 1974. The company was the Principal Contractor appointed for a job where a labourer sustained severe injuries after falling 7.5 metres from a roof onto a bench grinding machine. The accident happened on the first day of the work and there was no edge protection on the roof, no nets or scaffolding under the roof lights, and no barriers or warnings to prevent access to the lights. |
RoSPA Safety Express January/February 2010:7 Week ending: 22/01/10 |
| Going it alone. |
| A look at the risks faced by the increasing numbers of people who work alone and what measures can be introduced to protect them. (Jacky Steemson) |
RoSPA Safety Express January/February 2010:10-11 Week ending: 22/01/10 |
| Have you signed the pledge? |
| Created as part of the HSE's new strategy "The Health and Safety of Great Britain: Be part of the Solution": find out how to join and how it's going. |
HSE Health and Safety Newsletter Dec 2009-Jan2010:7 Week ending: 22/01/10 |
| Caravan safety awareness days for SW tourist industry. |
| Caravan, camping and holiday parks across the South West are being offered expert health and safety advice in the run-up to the summer tourist season, thanks to a series of free events hosted by local authorities in partnership with the HSE and South West Tourism. These half-day H&S awareness events will take place from the end of January until the beginning of March. For details contact South West Tourism on 01392 353 220. |
HSE (National) Press Release 652/SWW/10 18/1/10 Week ending: 22/01/10 |
| Vehicle spot checks drive new load safety campaign. |
| Spot checks on hundreds of vehicles will take place in the coming weeks in support of a new drive to ensure that loads are being transported securely. The HSE's new load safety campaign is focused on reducing the number of deaths and injuries linked to workplace transport. |
HSE (National) Press Release 120/2010 19/12/09 Week ending: 22/01/10 |
| New guidance for local authorities to help improve health and safety in the waste and recycling sector. |
| New guidance is now available to help local authorities understand the importance of a sensible approach to health and safety when it comes to procuring and managing waste and recycling services, in a bid to help reduce heath and injury. The recycling industry has nine times more fatal accidents than the national average and four times as many workers suffer injuries. The HSE identified that a contribution factor may be that some local authorities are unclear what their legal duties are and mistakenly believe that putting a service out to contract relieves them of all H&S responsibilities. The new outline guidance gives practical information on how to make H&S an integral part of the procurement and contract management process. |
Internet: www.hse.gov.uk/waste/services HSE (National) Press Release 121/2010 19/1/10 Week ending: 22/01/10 |
| Aviation company fined £2,400 after painter fall. |
| Air Livery Plc fined £2,400 and costs of £9,162.54 under WHR 2005. Robert Lupton, 44, was working with a colleague to wrap a plane's wing in plastic sheeting to protect it from paint stripper. He stepped out on to the wing flap, nothing was in place to prevent falls, and fell 5 metres to the hangar floor below. He broke his left elbow and badly damaged ligaments. He has been unable to work since. The HSE found that it was usual practice for workers to work on wings without scaffolding or fall protection, did not have adequate training for working at height and had not implemented or enforced their risk assessment which led to unsafe ways of working becoming standard practice. |
HSE (National) Press Release 658/SWW/10 20/1/10 Week ending: 22/01/10 |
| Keeping alive. A new year's resolution for farmers in the East of England. |
| The HSE is launching the next phase in its ?Make the Promise' campaign with the stark message that people are still dying in needless farm accidents. Recently finalised figures for 2008/09 show that one worker died in the East of England and 74 were seriously injured. More than 1700 farmers in East England have already signed up to the campaign and George Harcourt, who runs his farm near Holt, is leading the bid for more farmers in the region to now do the same. |
HSE (East) Press Release 18/1/10 Week ending: 22/01/10 |
| Lovell Partnerships Limited |
| Fined £75,000 under HASAWA 1974 s3. Fatality following fall from height (8 metres). Child fell from flat roof having gained access via scaffold. |
HSE Prosecution 4041680 9/11/09 Week ending: 22/01/10 |
| Paul R L James |
| Fined a total of £60,000 under PUWER 1998. Two employees in the space of 14 months each had their arms severely injured (and in one case amputated) following entanglement tail drums of two conveyors on the site with deficient guarding. It is alleged that the company was aware of these deficiencies and so the breaches and directly attributable to his consent, connivance or neglect under HASAWA 1974 s37. |
HSE Prosecution 4150807 9/11/09 Week ending: 22/01/10 |
| Monty Alexander Brittain |
| Fined a total of £900 under GSIUR 1998. Monty Brittain t/a Boston Gas Services. Unregistered gas installer who installed central heating boiler. |
HSE Prosecution 4154054 9/11/09 Week ending: 22/01/10 |
| Stephen McGill |
| Fined a total of £1,000 under GSIUR 1998. Prosecution of Stephen McGill trading as Plumbtek Lincoln, following him undertaking gas work when not competent to do so, leaving the installation in a dangerous condition, and when he was not registered with CORGI. Mr McGill was aware of the requirement to be registered as he had received previous advice from HSE. |
HSE Prosecution 4130714 10/11/09 Week ending: 22/01/10 |
| International Paper (UK) Ltd |
| Fined £6,000 under HASAWA 1974 s2. Inadequate safeguarding/unsafe system of work at Reel-Up part of PM3 paper machine. Employee seriously injured whilst carrying out paper feeding operation. |
HSE Prosecution 4158528 10/11/09 Week ending: 22/01/10 |
| City of Edinburgh Council |
| Fined a total of £14,000 under CAR 2006. Failure to manage asbestos resulting in exposure of employees. |
HSE Prosecution 4114675 11/11/09 Week ending: 22/01/10 |
| Alba Proteins Penrith Ltd |
| Fined £20,000 under HASAWA 1974 s33. 3 employees scalded whilst trying to free a blockage on a waste cooker from a release of steam. No clear safe system of work in place at time of accident. |
HSE Prosecution 4177537 11/11/09 Week ending: 22/01/10 |
| A & P Falmouth Ltd |
| Fined £85,000 under HASAWA 1974 s2. No Sep Penalty under LOLER 1998. Employee suffered fatal injuries whilst involved in lifting operations. Insufficient procedures in place to ensure that lifting operations were properly planned by a competent person, appropriately supervised and carried out in a safe manner. |
HSE Prosecution 4068607 12/11/09 Week ending: 22/01/10 |
| Mr D K K Solanki T/A Melbourn Stores |
| Fined a total of £1,500 under ELCIR 1998. Prosecution following notice non-compliance, period of non-insurance. |
HSE Prosecution 4170098 12/11/09 Week ending: 22/01/10 |
| Hughes Brothers Building & Joinery |
| Fined £8,000 under HASAWA 1974 s2. An employee suffered major injuries when a wall collapsed on him during the demolition of a property. The company failed to manage the project properly and the risk assessment it had produced did not fully identify the dangers the workers would face. |
HSE Prosecution 4177064 12/11/09 Week ending: 22/01/10 |
| Company fined £90,000 after man dies at Heathrow Airport. |
| Aviance UK fined £90,000 and costs of £18,800 under HASAWA 1974 s2. Mohammed Taj, 52, a vehicle maintenance specialist was repairing a defective vehicle used to pull baggage trolleys, also known as a baggage tug, which had broken down. The vehicle was raised 60cm in the air on a single trolley jack as its only means of support. The worker was underneath the tug when the trolley jack moved backwards, dropping the tug onto him. He died at the scene shortly afterwards of head injuries. The HSE investigation showed that the maintenance van supplied by Aviance UK routinely carried a trolley jack but never carried axle stands or other means of support which should be used. Aviance UK did not have an adequate system for ensuring that the maintenance van returned to the workshop for axle stands, or that defective vehicles were recovered and proper vehicle hoists used. |
HSE (National) Press Release 666/W/10 25/1/10 Week ending: 29/01/10 |
| SME advice line forms part of national mental-health strategy. |
| A new occup health advice line for small businesses is being piloted as part of a wide-ranging Government strategy. Opened across seven regions of England, and the whole of Scotland and Wales, the pilots have been set up in response to a review into what measures could be put in place to improve support for unemployed people with mental health issues. Psychological ill health costs the economy between £30bn and £40bn a year through lost production, sickness pay, NHS treatment, and the personal and financial costs associated with being out of work. |
Internet: www.dwp.gov.uk/realising-ambitions SHP January 2010:6 Week ending: 29/01/10 |
| Train drivers win damages for hand disability. |
| Three train drivers, who all worked at the same train depot, have won a right to damages after they developed carpal tunnel syndrome in the course of their work. The industrial injury leaves victims with permanently disabled hands and the judgment could set a precedent for other train drivers across Britain. It is thought their symptoms were caused by repetitive work, adopting awkward wrist postures, and operating brake and power controls in cramped conditions. |
SHP January 2010:10 Week ending: 29/01/10 |
| HSE sticks to its guns on crane register coverage. |
| The HSE has chosen not to extend the coverage of its forthcoming crane register to include self-erecting and mobile cranes. Detailed recommendations for a statutory crane register have been agreed by the HSE board following public consultation, and the proposals, due to come into force in April 2010, will now be put to ministers for approval. |
SHP January 2010:10 Week ending: 29/01/10 |
| European-wide survey highlights risk-assessment worries among SMEs. |
| Despite the legal obligation to carry out risk assessments, 10 to 15 per cent of small enterprises (those employing between 10 and 50 staff) in Europe still do not do so, not even a more informal "workplace check". Asked why some checks did not occur, 73 percent of SMEs and 44 per cent of large companies (those with more than 250 employees) said they were not necessary. This may indicate that SMEs have fewer problems than larger companies, or that they lack awareness and knowledge. |
SHP January 2010:12 Week ending: 29/01/10 |
| Breast cancer fails to make industrial injuries list. |
| The Industrial Injuries Advisory Council has concluded that neither breast cancer nor ischemic heart disease fulfil the criteria of the Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit scheme, following a review of the link between both illnesses and shift-working. |
SHP January 2010:12 Week ending: 29/01/10 |
| Two jailed over fireworks factory deaths. |
| Alpha Fireworks owner Martin Winter has been jailed for seven years and his son Nathan has been jailed for five years. The sentences are for the deaths of retained firefighter Geoff Wicker and support officer Brian Wembridge. |
SHP January 2010:18 Week ending: 29/01/10 |
| More questions than answers. |
| The seminal Chargot case has created more problems than solutions, with the Appeal Court continuing to take a subjective rather than objective view of what risk means. (Michael Appleby) |
SHP January 2010:23 Week ending: 29/01/10 |
| Survive and thrive. |
| It has been a year of doom and gloom for the economy, and jobs in H&S are still thin on the ground. Nevertheless, the recession has presented practitioners with opportunities that are just waiting to be grabbed. (James Clayton and Scott Nadler) |
SHP January 2010:38-40 Week ending: 29/01/10 |
| Miles and milestones. |
| The key stages and lessons of one company's efforts to improve its management of occup road safety. (Dr Will Murray and Paul Gallemore) |
SHP January 2010:42-44 Week ending: 29/01/10 |
| On thin ice. |
| Icy conditions are prevalent at this time of year, making winter gritting an issue for employers and premises owners. What is required to fulfil your duty of care and prevent accidents in slippery conditions. (Alastair Kight) |
SHP January 2010:47-48 Week ending: 29/01/10 |
| Unnatural causes. |
| The types, common uses, and lifecycle of machine-made mineral fibres (MMMF), looking at how the COSHH Regulations specifically apply, and suggesting practical advice for the different occasions when workers will be exposed to MMMF. (Russell Dunne) |
SHP January 2010:50-52 Week ending: 29/01/10 |
| Fit for life. |
| An outline of the work being done to address the thousands of deaths and cases of ill-health caused by airborne hazardous substances via a new scheme to ensure respiratory protective equipment is fitted, worn and looked after properly. (Matthew Judson) |
SHP January 2010:54-56 Week ending: 29/01/10 |
| Foamed concrete. |
| HSE has updated its advice for the construction industry on the use of foamed concrete following an explosion which injured two contractors. |
Internet: www.hse.gov.uk/construction/liveissues/foamedconcrete.htm RoSPA Occup Safety & Health Journal January 2010:4 Week ending: 29/01/10 |
| Offshore improvements but challenges remain. |
| The number of reported dangerous occurrences offshore fell by just over six per cent to 477 in 2008/09 according to figures released by the HSE. The 477 reported occurrences included 157 releases of hydro-carbon gas, 40 failures of lifting machinery etc, and 133 incidents where either: equipment required to maintain a floating offshore installation failed, or and object dropped on an installation, attendant vessel or into the water, or weather damage was a factor. |
RoSPA Occup Safety & Health Journal January 2010:5 Week ending: 29/01/10 |
| Latex allergy. |
| Itchy, cracked skin, hives, a runny nose, these are just a few of the "milder" symptoms people with an allergy to latex can suffer if exposed to latex products. More severe reactions include difficulty swallowing and breathing. (Jo Johnson) |
RoSPA Occup Safety & Health Journal January 2010:17-20 Week ending: 29/01/10 |
| The wind of change. |
| The number of wind turbines in the UK, both on and offshore, is expected to increase by around 7,000 over the next ten years as the Government increases its efforts to produce energy from renewable sources. How wind farms operate. (Nick Cook) |
RoSPA Occup Safety & Health Journal January 2010:25-29 Week ending: 29/01/10 |
| Hot work and contractors. |
| Are you effectively controlling contractors carrying out hot work tasks using gas cylinders and associated equipment on your site? (Ian Constable) |
RoSPA Occup Safety & Health Journal January 2010:33-36 Week ending: 29/01/10 |
| Choosing PPE. |
| Guidance on selecting personal protective equipment (PPE) and an outline of employers' legal obligations in relation to PPE. (Paul Ness) |
RoSPA Occup Safety & Health Journal January 2010:41 Week ending: 29/01/10 |
| How many lives saved? |
| There is no doubt that the safety community saves lives and enables those who would otherwise have been blighted by injury to live normally. But how do we know how many lives have been saved? (Roger Bibbings) |
RoSPA Occup Safety & Health Journal January 2010:46-47 Week ending: 29/01/10 |
| Keeping alive, a New Year's resolution for farmers in Wales. |
| Farmers across Wales are being encouraged to make their New Year's resolution a promise to come home safe from the field. The HSE launched the next phase in its 'Make the Promise' campaign at an agriculture safety day. Recently finalised figures for 2008/9 show that 2,435 people were seriously injured in farming accidents, 84 of them in Wales. Nearly 1,300 farmers in Wales have already signed up to the campaign. More are now being encouraged to do the same. |
HSE (National) Press Release 666/W/10 25/1/10 Week ending: 29/01/10 |
| Edinburgh construction firm fined. |
| Scotcare Preservation Ltd fined a total of £3,600 under HASAWA 1974 s2, s21 and s33 and WHR 2005. The company failed to ensure properly trained staff were managing a construction site. During a house construction they failed to ensure the health, safety and welfare of their employees by failing to provide adequate supervision of workers. The company also admitted to not providing the site foreman with adequate H&S training and failing to put adequate precautions in place to prevent falls from height, failing to provide adequate washing facilities and neglecting to ensure scaffolding was regularly inspected. |
HSE (National) Press Release SCO/00610 25/1/10 Week ending: 29/01/10 |
| Carbon monoxide, will you wake up? |
| Students living in digs are being urged to make sure they aren't putting their lives in danger by making sure their accommodation has life-saving audible carbon monoxide (CO) alarms fitted. Every year 15 to 20 people die from carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning in the UK and 234 suffered major injuries last year alone. The HSE is launching a new campaign in the South West to make parents, landlords and students aware of the dangers of carbon monoxide. |
HSE (National) Press Release WW678/SWW 26/1/10 Week ending: 29/01/10 |
| Bristol landlord fined for asbestos exposure. |
| Frank Bruce and Company Ltd fined a total of £18,000 and costs of £6,679 under CDMR 2007 and CAR 2006. The company put workers at risk of asbestos-related diseases while working on a property. HSE inspectors visited industrial units where the defendant had organised refurbishment work involving the removal of a large quantity of asbestos insulation board without taking statutory safety precautions. This led to exposure of the workers to the asbestos and also the contamination of the units being renovated. |
HSE (National) Press Release HSE119/2010 22/1/10 Week ending: 29/01/10 |
| Bolton company fined after builder falls to his death. |
| DC Kennedy Homes Ltd fined £7,500 and costs of £7,500 under HASAWA 1974 s2. Ian Smith, 64, was working on a new build house when the ladder he was using to reach the second floor slipped and he fell five metres to the ground. The rubber feet were missing from the ladder and it was not secured to prevent it from slipping. |
HSE (National) Press Release HSE/NW/028Kennedy 29/1/10 Week ending: 29/01/10 |
| Injured Lancashire farmer backs safety campaign. |
| David Coar, a Lancashire farmer who injured his hand in an agricultural accident last year, is giving his support to a national safety campaign. He is urging other farmers to think more about their safety having badly cut his hand last year on the teeth of a tractor fork. He now takes longer to feed his stock as he takes the time to put bales onto a trailer so that he can feed them safely. |
HSE (National) Press Release HSE/NW/Farmer 29/1/10 Week ending: 29/01/10 |
| Flamingo Land Ltd (Flamingoland) |
| Fined £5,000 under HASAWA 1974 s3. Incomplete platform on fairground ride, IP (aged 2) fell through hole, falling 2.4m. |
HSE Prosecution 4150331 16/11/09 Week ending: 29/01/10 |
| Dundee Leisure |
| Fined £40,000 under HASAWA 1974 s3. Drowning in wave channel within leisure pool at Olympia Leisure Centre, Dundee. |
HSE Prosecution 4134748 17/11/09 Week ending: 29/01/10 |
| Lee Underwood |
| Guilty. No Sep Penalty under GSIUR 1998 and HASAWA 1974 s33. Defective gas work by unregistered installer, including issue of a landlords gas safety record. Joint prosecution with Trading Standards. |
HSE Prosecution 4164427 17/11/09 Week ending: 29/01/10 |
| Mark Wilson trading as MWS Scaffolding Services |
| Fined £5,000 under HASAWA 1974 s2. An employee was injured when he fell through the unprotected fragile roof light of a store 10 metres above the ground. Defendant failed to ensure, so far as was reasonably practicable, the safety at work of his employees during work near to unprotected fragile roof lights on site. |
HSE Prosecution 4188284 20/11/09 Week ending: 29/01/10 |
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HSE Prosecutions Database
The HSE did not post prosecutions for about a year from January until November 2006. There is therefore be a gap in our database from a hearing date of 24 January 2006 until 1 November 2006. Anyone not finding a case which may have been heard between January and November 2006, should therefore try searching the HSE Prosecutions database.
When the HSE relaunched the Prosecution database in January 2007, after a break of around a year, they appear to have changed the format of the case numbers. Therefore, for all entries with a hearing date before the 24 January 2006 you should search the HSE database using the defendants name instead of the case number we have quoted if you wish to check details for yourself.
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