NEWS £880K FINE AFTER


‘HORRIFIC’ FATALITY A recycling company has been fined £880,000, and two people have been given a suspended prison sentence after the death of an agency worker who was drawn into machinery while cleaning in the area.


Nottingham Crown Court heard how Karlis Pavasars working at Mid –UK Recycling Limited at the Barkston Heath site near Ancaster lost his life whilst cleaning near a conveyor. The recycling line was started up and the worker was drawn onto the conveyor, along the line through a trommel and into an industrial waste shredder.


An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) into the incident that occurred on 19 July 2013


UTILITY COMPANY


RECEIVE ASBESTOS FINES A Paisley-based utility services company has today been fined for exposing four of its employees to asbestos during work at Anderson Tower in Motherwell in 2014.


Hamilton Sheriff Court heard that four electricians employed by IQA Operations Group Ltd had been drilling through door transom panels to fit electric cables into each property within the tower block as part of the installation of a new low voltage distribution system.


The company had identified that an asbestos survey was carried out


GOVERNORS FINED AFTER PUPIL


INJURED The board of governors at a primary school has been fined after a pupil’s fingers became trapped in a toilet door.


Manchester Magistrates’ Court heard how, on 29th September 2016, the four-year-old pupil, who had been at St Joseph’s RC Primary School for three weeks, was allowed to access the girls’ toilet alone. She was heard


found that the fixed gate that fenced the area off and prevented access to the conveyor had been removed for a number of weeks prior to the incident, which meant that workers could freely gain access to the area. Management were aware that the gate was not in place just days before the incident.


The investigation also found the company failed to design and provide a recycling line that was safe for those that worked on and around it, including separation on wheeled vehicles and pedestrians. The company also failed to maintain adequate guarding of the line to prevent access to it while it was in operation and failed to train and supervise agency workers.


Mid-UK Recycling Ltd of Summit House, Quarrington, Sleaford pleaded guilty to breaching Section 3 (1) and Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety


ahead of the works starting but did not include a survey of the transom panels above each flat entrance door.


The four electricians started work on the site on 23rd June 2014 and drilled holes in the door transom panels in all 44 flats. The electricians were not aware that the panels contained asbestos so no measures were in place to control exposure to airborne asbestos fibres.


On 2nd July 2017, a resident raised a concern that the panels were asbestos, work was stopped and the panels tested. The samples tested positive for asbestos. Immediate action was taken to decontaminate


screaming by members of staff, who found her with her fingers trapped in the hinges of the toilet door. These injuries later resulted in partial amputation of her right middle finger.


The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigation found that the finger guard on the door was missing as one had not been fitted since the toilets were converted five years previously. The investigation also found there was no system in place for checking and monitoring the door guards. Staff had


hse.gov.uk twitter.com/TomorrowsHS 9


at Work etc Act 1974 and has been fined £880,000 and ordered to pay costs of £100,000.


Christopher Mountain, Managing Director, pleaded guilty to breaching Section 37 of the Health and Safety at Work Act. He has been given a 20 week prison sentence suspended for two years and fined £50,000.


Alan Munson former Operations Director, pleaded guilty to breaching Section 37 of Health and Safety at Work Act and was given a 20 week prison sentence suspended for two years.


After the hearing HSE inspector Dr Richenda Dixon commented “This horrific fatality could so easily have been avoided by simply installing and maintaining physical guards around conveyors and ensuring that safe working practices were in place.


the flats which involved the local council making arrangements for the residents to leave their properties while the work was being done.


An investigation by the HSE found that IQA Operations Group Ltd had failed to provide and maintain a safe system of work to identify the presence of asbestos.


Speaking after the hearing, Gerry Muir HM Inspector of Health and Safety said “This incident could have easily been avoided if the company had in place a system of work to ensure that the asbestos survey it requested to be carried out covered all of the intended work areas.”


also highlighted to the former head teacher that the door was too heavy for young children to open.


The Board of Governors at St Joseph’s RC Primary school, of Market Street, Mossley, pleaded guilty to breaching Section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974.


HSE inspector Lisa Bailey said after the hearing: “This injury could have easily been prevented if a door guard had been fitted and a system was put in place to maintain and monitor the guards.”


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