Health and safety update September 2019

Welcome to our September 2019 health and safety update where we look at the health and safety stories that have recently hit the headlines as well as the latest fines and sentences that have been handed down.

In the news

Natasha’s Law laid down in Parliament
The Food Information (Amendment) (England) Regulations 2019, also known as Natasha’s law, were laid in Parliament on 5 September 2019. The Regulations increase the obligations on businesses to list food ingredients. Natasha Ednan-Laperouse was a 15 year old girl who died after a severe allergic reaction. Read more

Fines and sentences

£1m fine for Govia Thameslink Railway Ltd (GTR) after a passenger dies on train
On a GTR train travelling to Brighton, Simon Brown, aged 24, died after hitting his head on a trackside gantry. The train he was travelling on was going at around 60mph. Read more

Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust sentenced after patient fall
Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust was prosecuted by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) after a patient fell from the roof of his ward at an incident in 2016. Read more

Court rejects appeal against sentence and increases fine
Bowland Foods Limited, a meat producer, was charged with failing to remove parts of animals that were deemed a ‘specified risk material’ before they entered the food chain. This obligation is imposed by the Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathies (England) Regulations 2010 and is intended to reduce the risk of brain disease to animals and humans. Read more

£1m fine after explosion causes two workers’ burns
Two employees of Delphi Diesel Systems Limited were involved in the cleaning of a distillation tank at the company’s factory. In order to clean the tank, the workers had to spray an inflammable degreasing product into the tank and then scrub the inside of the tank with a wired brush. Read more

Events company fined after worker knocked unconscious
Employees of the event management company Sovereign Exhibitions & Events (SSE) had been working at one of the event locations. One of the tasks involved getting a park home chassis, measuring 14-foot-wide, through a smaller 13-foot-wide gap. In order to do this, employees had to pull up and angle the chassis through the opening while it was on the two forklift trucks. During this process the chassis slipped off and hit one of the employee’s shoulders. The force of the impact left the employee unconscious and caused him to break his collar-bone. Read more

Director imprisoned for breaching the REACH and Plant Protection Products (PPP) Regulations
A complaint made against Abel (UK) Limited, a small cleaning company, to the HSE revealed that the company was selling a plant protection product containing sodium chlorate, which is a prohibited substance. The company also sold a paint stripper containing dichloromethane, which is restricted under Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) and must only be sold to certified professionals. Read more

Company and director sentenced after workers diagnosed with hand arm vibration syndrome (HAVS)
Celtic Rock Services Limited is a company which offers services in rock drilling, cliff stabilisation and rock anchors. The work is usually carried out by abseiling down a cliff and then using rock drills and jack hammers to stabilise the cliff. Read more

Council fined £100k after seven employees developed HAVS through excessive use of power tools
The HSE launched an investigation after the Dacorum Borough Council reported seven cases of HAVS to the HSE from employees of its grounds and maintenance and street care team. The investigation prompted the issue of an Improvement Notice for failing to carry out proper risk assessments and failing to provide employees who could be exposed to vibration at or above the exposure action value with suffcient information, instruction and training. Read more

Inadequate guarding and protection leads to a fine of £466,666
A worker at Cheshire Mouldings and Woodturnings Limited’s factory site suffered severe injuries as a result of her hair being caught in a machine. Read more

Employer fined after worker loses four fingers
A welder, working at a concrete plant operated by Hanson Quarry Products Europe Limited, lost four of his fingers after a heavy metal gate fell on his hand. Read more

Double sentencing for two West Midlands Companies after workers exposed to risk of falling from height
Kingswinford Engineering Co Limited and James Durrans & Sons Limited have both been fined after workers were exposed to a significant risk of falling from height. Read more

Environmental

BP Exploration fined £274,000 in emissions trading penalty and £400,000 for separate oil pipeline leak
The Offshore Petroleum Regulator for Environment and Decommissioning issued a civil penalty of £274,000 on BP Exploration for failing to account for all of its CO2 emissions in a North Sea operation. Read more

Thames Water fined £607,000
Thames Water discharged 30 million litres of sewage from the Maidenhead sewage works. This polluted the Maidenhead Ditch and the River Cut, causing hundreds of fish to die. The discharge also risked the contamination of drinking water supplies. Read more

Bradford Directors convicted following sham waste operation
This prosecution of two individuals followed the illegal dumping of over 275 tonnes of waste at a site in Duncombe Road, in Bradford between January-March 2017. Read more

Round-up

HSE has released guidance for “working safely with display screen equipment”
HSE has produced guidance on the Health and Safety (Display Screen Equipment) Regulations, and what employers must do to protect their workers. Read more

Local healthy workplace accreditation guidance has been released
The Government has released guidance providing practical tips to local authorities and their partners planning or setting up Local Workplace Health Accreditation Schemes. Read more

HSE release annual workplace fatality figures
HSE annual figures for workplace fatality for 2018/19 were released in July. They show that 147 workers were fatally injured between April 2018 and March 2019. This is an increase of six fatalities from 2017/18. Read more