FEATURE NEWS THE INCOURTS
LONDON JOINERY FIRM FINED £20,000 FOR FAILING TO CONTROL WOOD DUST
A joinery firm in South East London has been fined £20,000 for failing to control its employees’ exposure to wood dust.
F&E Joinery Limited, in Herne Hill, was inspected in May 2022 as part of a Health and Safety Executive (HSE) campaign targeting woodworking businesses due to the significant health risks associated with exposure to wood dust, including the risk of developing occupational asthma. During the visit the inspector identified multiple failings related to control of exposure to wood dust, including excessive levels of settled dust around the site.
The inspection found some of the company’s machines had been disconnected from the local exhaust ventilation (LEV) system, which is used to extract wood dust at source during machining of wood. There was no way to connect other machines to the system. LEV significantly reduces the amount of wood dust that
COMPANY PROSECUTED FOR PUTTING WORKERS AT RISK OF EXPOSURE TO RADIATION
A company in Cornwall has been fined after putting its employees at risk of exposure to ionising radiation over a 10-year period.
In 2009, Terrill Bros. (Founders) Limited’s external Radiation Protection Adviser (RPA) identified failings in the access controls and warning systems at the company’s foundry on Guildford Road, Hayle, Cornwall. In the 10 years following, the company received further RPA visits, reports and advice, yet remedial action was not taken.
The company’s failure to address these issues continued until the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) carried out an unannounced inspection of the foundry in February 2019.
An HSE investigation found the door to the company’s industrial radiography enclosure did not have adequate interlocks nor was there a suitable trapped key system to prevent access. There were also no pre-exposure warning systems or automatic and failsafe warning
becomes airborne and inhaled when machined. There was also no evidence that settled wood dust was being cleaned up.
The company had been served with an enforcement notice relating to their control of wood dust on two previous occasions spanning over 10 years.
On 21 April 2023, at Westminster Magistrates’ Court, F & E Joinery Limited pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 7(1) of the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (as amended) Regulations 2002 and was fined £20,000 and ordered to pay costs of £1,500.
HSE inspector Marcus Pope said: “This case sends out a clear message to the industry that HSE will prosecute when inspectors find serious health and safety failings, particularly when previous enforcement and advice has been provided.
“Exposure to wood dust causes various occupational lung diseases which can significantly affect the quality of people’s lives, and in some cases result in premature death. HSE continues to target the woodworking industry and strongly urges businesses to consult its website for further information to ensure that control of exposure is managed, and their statutory duties are complied with.”
lights in place. Employees at Terrill Bros. (Founders) Limited were put at risk of exposure to high dose rates of ionising radiation by the company’s reliance on administrative controls, rather than installing industry standard engineering controls.
Terrill Bros. (Founders) Limited, of Guildford Road, Hayle, Cornwall, pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 9(1) of the Ionising Radiations Regulations 2017, and Regulation 8(1) of the preceding Ionising Radiations Regulations 1999. The company was fined £33,750 and ordered to pay costs of £47,601 at Truro Crown Court on 14 April 2023.
Karen Fuller, HSE Specialist Inspector of Radiation, said: “This situation could so easily have been avoided by acting on the advice received from their RPA and installing appropriate control measures.
“All companies carrying out industrial radiography must ensure they have appropriate access controls and warning systems for their enclosures. Only then can they be confident that any exposure to ionising radiation is kept as low as reasonably practicable and the risks of accidental exposure are minimised.
“Companies should be aware that HSE will not hesitate to take appropriate enforcement action against those that fall below the required standards.”
10
www.tomorrowshs.com
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46
