Consultants
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Health and Safety in the news this
week
Update on Didcot Power Station collapse
This is a joint statement on
behalf of Thames Valley Police and the Health and Safety Executive (HSE)
following the partial building collapse at Didcot power station on 23 February.
“The priority of the
multi-agency response remains the recovery of the missing men so they can be
returned to their families. Specialist officers from Thames Valley Police
continue to support the families at this difficult time and we are providing
them with regular updates on the progress.
The site owners RWE have
overall responsibility for the safety of buildings and structures on their
site. They must produce a plan for a safe method of working before the next
stage of the recovery can begin. Once this is received and approved by HSE,
emergency services are on hand to recover the missing men.
Preparation at the site, for
the recovery, is taking place and will continue.
We are working hard to
identify as soon as possible what caused the building to partially collapse, to
provide answers and prevent such a tragedy happening again.”
HSE prosecution round up:
Man fined for potentially exposing members of the public to
asbestos
A man from County Durham has
been fined for potentially exposing members of the public to asbestos fibres
during the refurbishment of a residential property on South Parade, Croft on
Tees, County Durham.
Darlington Magistrates’ Court
heard how Peter Wade of Staindrop, was converting an integrated garage into a
bedroom at the property. While he was visiting the property for a quote, the
home owners mentioned the possibility of asbestos in the garage.
While working in the loft space
of the garage, the garage ceiling collapsed and Peter Wade proceeded to pull
the remainder of the ceiling down, break it up and place in waste bags. It was
not until he removed the material that he discovered it contained asbestos.
An investigation by the Health
and Safety Executive (HSE) into the incident which occurred on 14 March 2015,
found that Peter Wade failed to ensure an asbestos survey was carried out prior
to any work taking place.
Peter Nigel Wade (trading as P.N.
Wade Building and Civil Engineering contractor), of Winston Road, Staindrop,
County Durham, pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 5(1) of the Control of
Asbestos Regulations 2012, and was fined £267 and ordered to pay costs of
£1,765.
Barnstaple gas engineer prosecuted following unsafe asbestos
removal at a tenants’ home
A gas engineer removed
potentially dangerous asbestos material during a gas boiler replacement putting
himself and others at risk from exposure to asbestos fibres.
Brian Hockin, aged 58, was
removing an old warm air heating system at a residential property on Williams
Close, Wrafton when he disturbed a quantity of asbestos insulation board that
surrounded the warm air boiler.
The tenants of the property
raised their concerns with Brian Hockin that he had disturbed asbestos but he
continued to remove the material bagging it and removing it from the property
and storing it at his yard. The tenants were so concerned
that they contacted Health and Safety Executive (HSE) which prosecuted Brian
Hockin at Barnstaple Magistrates’ court.
During the hearing the court
heard that Brian Hockin used no safety measures to prevent the spread of
asbestos and that he used no protective clothing or protective breathing
apparatus when he was removing the asbestos.
Brian Hockin of Bickington,
near Barnstaple, pleaded guilty of breaching Section 3(2) of the Health and
Safety at Work etc Act 1974, and was fined £450 and ordered to pay £921.40 in
costs.
HSE Inspector Simon Jones,
speaking after the trial, said:
“Brian Hockin’s negligence could result in
serious health effects to both him and anyone else who may have come into
contact with the asbestos material that he disturbed.
Given Mr Hockin’s vast
experience as a gas engineer he should have realised that there is a very good
chance that a 30 year old gas boiler could be insulated with asbestos
insulation board but he made no checks before working around the material.
He then compounded matters by
ignoring concerns raised the tenants that the material that he had disturbed
was asbestos and carried on removing the material.
Tradesmen should always be
aware that asbestos can be found in any industrial or residential building built
or refurbished before the year 2000.
Tradesmen should make
enquiries as the presence of asbestos before starting work and if they suspect
that they have come across asbestos during work they should stop work
immediately and confirm what the material is and arrange for it to be dealt
with by properly trained asbestos removers in a safe manner.”
Company fined after worker falls through roof
A Cornish clean energy company
has been fined after a worker fell through a fragile roof.
Bodmin Magistrates’ Court heard
how a senior roofer working for Clean Earth Energy Limited was installing solar
panels at Homeleigh Garden Centre in Launceston. While traversing the roof, the
cement fibre sheeting he was walking on gave way and he fell approximately
fifteen feet. He suffered multiple injuries including several fractured
vertebrae.
An investigation by the Health
and Safety Executive (HSE) into the incident which occurred on 15 August 2015
found the work was not properly planned or appropriately supervised.
Clean Earth Energy Limited, of
Bess Park Road, Trenant Industrial Estate, Wadebridge, Cornwall, pleaded guilty
to breaching Regulation 4(1) of the Work at Height Regulations 2005, and was
fined £20,000 and ordered to pay costs of £1,704.
HSE inspector Nicole Buchanan
said after the hearing: “Working on fragile surfaces is a particularly high risk activity in which many serious accidents occur. Duty holders should do everything possible to protect their workers from the risk of a fall.”
Major construction firm fined £1million after death of worker
Construction firm Balfour
Beatty has been fined after a worker lost his life whilst repairing a central
reservation barrier damaged in a road traffic collision.
Canterbury Crown Court heard
how, on 1 October 2012, a team was sent out by Balfour Beatty Civil Engineering
Limited, a subsidiary of Balfour Beatty PLC, to install temporary traffic
management in order to repair barriers on the A2 at the location of a collision
site.
The crew were trying to remove
the footings of a post that had snapped off, using a lorry mounted crane. The
lorry mounted crane slipped from the concrete footing, and swung back towards
the barrier, hitting the worker on the head. Larry Newman, aged 37, sustained
severe head injuries and was pronounced dead at the scene.
Balfour Beatty Civil
Engineering Limited, of Churchill Place, Canary Wharf, London, was fined a
total of £1million, and ordered to pay £14,977 in costs after pleading guilty
to offences under Section 2(1) and Section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at
Work etc. Act 1974.
After the hearing, HSE
inspector Andrew Cousins said: “This was an entirely preventable incident that
could have been averted by simply creating and implementing a safe system of
work. If a suitably sized excavator had been used to remove the footing
mechanically it would have prevented this tragic loss of life completely.
“Employers have a
responsibility to create safe systems of work for hazardous activities that
their workers may be undertaking. The workers should be trained in safe systems
of working and adequately supervised. Safety needs to be proactively managed
and not just left to chance”.
HSE Health and Safety Myths Buster
All tools on building sites need to be a maximum of 110V
Issue
The enquirer was tasked with
carrying out sound insulation tests in houses on a construction site. The site
manager asked him if his equipment was battery operated to which his reply was
"no, it will need to be plugged into a 230V socket". He asked if
there was 230V power in the plots and the site manager said yes it was available
but all "tools" on site need to run off a maximum of 110V as this was
the company policy.
Panel opinion
The enquirer appears to have
been planning to work in a completed (or nearly) completed house with the
electrical system installed and compliant with requirements for electrical
installations. This is a significantly lower risk from when the house is under
construction. Whilst health and safety law does not ban 230v tools on
construction sites, HSE strongly advises that 110v tools are preferable given
the wet, dirty and dusty nature of construction sites and the possibility of
mechanical damage to cables and tools.
In this instance a standard
which is reasonable for a live, temporary, construction site is being applied
to a different (domestic) environment where the risks would be much lower and
the electrical system permanent and compliant with the latest standards.
If a site or company decide to impose a higher (disproportionate) standard in
this lower risk environment they can but it is not health and safety law that
requires this.
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