Chemical Firm Fined for Safety Work Regulations Breach
A chemical firm has been fined £10,000 and told to pay prosecution costs after a worker at a Cheshire factory almost lost his arm following an accident involving an industrial conveyor belt.
The 56-year-old victim broke his elbow and suffered other related injuries to the left side of his body and hand after attempting to perform a maintenance check on the conveyor system at Amcol Minerals Europe Ltd in Winsford during March 2010.
His arm was subsequently dragged underneath a moving belt into the rotating mechanism. The severity of the injuries left the unnamed worker unable to attend work for an extended period though he has since returned. A Health and Safety Executive Investigation found an unguarded area of the system had led to the accident.
“The worker suffered severe injuries in the incident and he could easily have lost his arm. These conveyor belts are extremely powerful and unforgiving. Amcol should have done more to make sure its employees weren’t being put at risk,” HSE Investigating Inspector Carl Jones revealed.
The firm pleaded guilty to breaching 1998 Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations after failing to provide appropriate protection from dangerous components of the machinery and must pay a total of £16,702.50.
“The company has since fitted interlocked guarding around the dangerous parts of the conveyor belt, which automatically cuts the power if it’s removed. If this relatively straightforward piece of work had been carried out earlier then the company could have prevented a worker from being badly injured,” Mr Jones concluded.
