A Lincolnshire waste management firm has been fined after a worker suffered serious burns during an electrical explosion. The man was moving heavy duty electrical cables with a metal crowbar on a mobile elevating platform when the bar came into contact with the live conductor.
His actions caused an electrical explosion at Copper Hill industrial estate in Barkston Heath, near Grantham, in July 2021. The man suffered serious burns to his face and body as well as a broken left arm, fractured ribs and dislocated knee cap after falling from the platform.
An investigation carried out by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that the task was not part of the normal workload for the injured worker and that he had not received any training for electrical work. He had been contracted by New Earth Solutions (West) Limited, trading as Mid UK Recycling, to work at the firm’s recycling plant on the industrial estate.
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The company, based in Caythorpe, pleaded guilty to breaching Section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. It was fined £200,000 and ordered to pay £12,466.60 in costs at Lincoln Magistrates’ Court on May 10, 2024.
(Image: HSE)
HSE inspector Tim Nicholson said: “This incident could so easily have been avoided by properly planning the task, ensuring that all workers involved were suitably competent and making sure that electrical conductors were isolated before the work began.
“Companies should be aware that HSE will not hesitate to take appropriate enforcement action against those that fall below the required standards.”
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