Health risks to port workers highlighted by HSE
Port and distribution workers who play a crucial role in making sure items are delivered to buyers in the UK could be putting their health at risk. Approximately 63.2 million tonnes of goods were handled by UK ports in 2015 in freight containers. These containers are opened on arrival by workers at Great Britain’s ports […]
Nestle fined over ‘life-changing’ chocolate factory injuries
Nestle has been fined after an employee suffered life-changing injuries at its factory in Newcastle upon Tyne. The incident happened on November 30, 2020 when the man was drawn into a roller mechanism on a conveyor machine. South Tyneside Magistrates’ Court heard how the maintenance technician was investigating a problem on the conveyor belt of […]
HSE launches campaign to combat aches in construction
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has warned that construction workers are picking up injuries and conditions that can stop them working and leave them struggling to stand, walk, or sit down. HSE inspectors will be carrying out 1,000 inspections in October and November checking how workers are moving heavy or bulky materials. The law […]
Fatal fall results in £190k fine for waste management firm
A waste management company has been fined £190,000 after a contractor died when he fell seven metres while carrying out maintenance work. The experienced maintenance contractor was part of a team under the control and direction of Wiltshire-based Hills Waste Solutions Limited. He sustained fatal injuries in the fall on November 18, 2020, while working […]
Employers ‘must act now’ to make sure workplaces are ready for warmer weather
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is advising businesses to think how they need to adapt to warmer working conditions for their staff. After last month’s record-breaking temperatures and with more hot weather expected this week, HSE is asking employers to ensure extreme heat becomes part of their long-term planning. With temperatures reaching an unprecedented […]
Robens will still matter over the next 50 years, says HSE Director
Lord Alfred Robens (pictured) was a prominent post-war industrialist. In 1969, three years after the Aberfan disaster, Robens was selected to chair a committee on workplace health and safety. The Robens Report of July 1972 led to the Health & Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, paving the way for the creation of Health and […]
123 workers killed in work-related accidents in 2021/22
A hundred and twenty-three workers were killed in work-related accidents in Great Britain in the last year, according to figures published by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). The annual data release covers the period from April 2021 to March 2022, during which time most pandemic restrictions were lifted and the economy began returning to […]
Carlsberg fined £3m following 2016 ammonia gas leak
Carlsberg has been fined £3 million after a contractor died and another was seriously injured following an ammonia gas leak at one of its breweries. The incident happened at Carlsberg’s site in Northampton. An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found Carlsberg hadn’t put proper controls in place. Father-of-two David Chandler, 45, was […]
Demolition company fined after fall from height fatality
A dismantling and demolition company has been fined after a worker fell 30 feet to his death when part of a pipe bridge platform gave way. Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court heard that John Gary Robertson, known as Gary Robertson, employed by CBR02 Limited (formerly known as Brown and Mason) suffered multiple injuries following a fall from […]
Former construction company directors sentenced for failing to prevent exposure to asbestos
Two former company directors have been sentenced and fined after a refurbishment project at a former department store was found to have disturbed asbestos containing materials (ACMs) while demolition work was still taking place. Newcastle Crown Court heard that during October 2017, the former Joplings Department Store in Sunderland was undergoing refurbishment when workers disturbed […]
