Manufacturer of stone worktops fined for failing to protect workers against dust exposure
A company that manufactures popular stone kitchen worktops repeatedly failed to protect workers from exposure to hazardous dust.
HSE inspectors attended Inova Stone Ltd’s premises in Slough nine times over a six-year period, and found little or no improvement across several areas of concern.
During an HSE inspector visit in May 2021 employees told them that ‘no-one is in charge of health and safety’. That visit came about after concerns had been raised about unsafe working practices.
Inspectors identified several breaches of health and safety law, including a failure to control exposure to respirable crystalline silica (RCS). The workshop floor was caked in dust, suggesting an absence of effective controls.
Processing stone, including engineered stone, by cutting, chiselling and polishing, can create dust that contains airborne particles that carry RCS. RCS dust is invisibly fine and can reach deep inside the lung. It can cause permanent lung damage before symptoms develop.
Stone workers are at risk of exposure to airborne particles of stone dust containing RCS, with the risk higher when exposure is prolonged and uncontrolled. Over time, breathing in these silica particles can cause irreversible, life-changing and often fatal respiratory conditions such as silicosis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and lung cancer.
HSE recently updated its guidance for those working on or installing stone worktops.
HSE inspectors also found Inova Stone Ltd routinely allowed workers to use unguarded machinery and heavy stone slabs were not being stored safely.
As a result of the inspection, the company was served with four improvement notices, with the resulting HSE investigation revealing similar action had also been taken four years earlier in 2017.
Breach
Inova Stone Ltd pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2(1) to the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974, as well as three charges for failure to comply with an improvement notice.
- Section 2(1) applies a duty on every employer to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health, safety and welfare at work of all employees.
Penalty
Inova Stone Ltd was fined £60,000 and ordered to pay £7,363 in costs.
School academy trust fined after a member of the public was hit by a falling tree branch
A school trust was fined and a self-employed gardening services provider was given a suspended prison sentence after a member of the public was hit by a falling tree branch.
The gardening services provider had been contracted by the trust to fell two trees in the grounds of St Cuthberts Catholic High School in Newcastle. He and a young apprentice set about the work. Having climbed one of the trees, the man was using a chainsaw to remove branches and sections of the trunk. He had been using a rope to tie the branches to be removed, with his young apprentice tasked with pulling each one inside the school boundary as they fell.
On 9 August 2022, a woman was walking her dog on the pavement along West Road in Newcastle when she was hit by a falling branch. The impact knocked her on to the road and into the path of incoming traffic. The branch fell when the rope being used snapped.
The gardening services provider continued working on the tree the next day, with the only change being that some cones and tape were placed on to the pavement. Members of the public were still walking underneath the tree while the man was working with a chainsaw. The trust did not attempt to stop him working in this manner despite the obvious risks and the incident the previous day.
An HSE investigation found that the contractor had no training or qualifications in arboriculture or in the use of chainsaws. He was using an unsafe method to fell the tree, including carrying out aerial chainsaw work above the open footpath and road.
The HSE found that Bishop Bewick Catholic Education Trust had made no checks on the contractor’s experience, competence or qualifications. The trust had not checked how he intended to do the work in advance of awarding the contract, made no check on the method used during the work, and did not stop the work after the incident.
The work was only stopped when HSE inspectors became aware of the incident, arrived on the scene, and served prohibition notices on the trust and the gardening services provider.
Breaches
Bishop Bewick Catholic Education Trust, pleaded guilty to breaching Section 3(1) to the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974:
- Section 3(1) applies a duty on every employer to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, persons other than employees are not exposed to risks to their health or safety.
The self-employed gardening services provider breached Section 3(2) to the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974:
- Section 3(2) requires self-employed persons to conduct undertakings in a way to ensure, so for as is reasonably practicable, that they and other persons who are not employees are not exposed to risks to their health or safety.
Penalties
Bishop Bewick Catholic Education Trust was fined £20,000 and ordered to pay £4,344 in costs.
The self-employed gardening services provider was given a 12-week prison sentence, suspended for 12 months. He must also complete 100 hours of unpaid work and was ordered to pay £1,000 towards the prosecution costs.
Roofing contractor sentenced for causing the uncontrolled spread of asbestos
A self-employed roofing contractor has been sentenced after their work led to the spread of asbestos in a back garden. This put two young workers and local residents at risk.
The man had been commissioned by a property management company to replace asbestos cement roof sheets on three garages in Bowden, Altrincham in February 2022. A local resident contacted the HSE to raise concerns about debris that had fallen into their garden during the work, which led to an HSE inspection. Analysis confirmed the debris in the resident’s garden contained chrysotile asbestos.
Furthermore, the HSE inspectors discovered ripped bags of asbestos waste stored in a publicly accessible area in front of the garages. Asbestos-containing materials were spilling onto the ground and contaminating nearby undergrowth. Further investigation revealed that residents’ belongings stored in the garages had also been contaminated.
Doorbell-cam footage from the location showed two workers under the supervision of the roofing contractor improperly clearing asbestos debris from a neighbouring garden and disposing of it in domestic waste bins.
The property management company subsequently arranged for a licensed asbestos removal contractor to safely collect the waste and thoroughly clean the affected areas.
Breaches
The man pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 11(1) and Regulation 16 of the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012, which require proper planning and precautions to prevent exposure to and spread of asbestos during non-licensed work
- Regulation 11(1) requires every employer to prevent employees from being exposed to asbestos so far as is reasonably practicable and, where this is not reasonably practicable, to take measures necessary to reduce exposure to the lowest level reasonably practicable using measures other than respiratory protective equipment and to ensure the number of employees exposed to asbestos is as low as is reasonably practicable.
- Regulation 16 requires every employer to prevent or, where this is not reasonably practicable, reduce to the lowest level reasonably practicable the spread of asbestos from any place where work under the employer's control is carried out.
Penalty
The man was sentenced to a 12-month Community Order with 200 hours of unpaid work. The man was also ordered to pay £3,582.13 in costs.
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