A waste processing company has been fined £70,000 after a worker was crushed to death.Liverpool Crown Court heard how on 1 March, Fresco Environmental Ltd employee Kevin Wright was processing waste carpet to be re-baled when one of the bales fell from a stack and landed on him, causing injuries from which he later died.
The HSE found the company had failed to ensure proper controls were in place to reduce the risk of bales falling and injuring workers. The HSE said there were no exclusion zones around the stacks of bales, which were also ‘poorly’ stacked and in ‘close proximity’ to vibrating machinery.
The investigation also found that the company’s managing director, Lee Heaps, failed to ensure that a safe system of work was in place for the processing of carpet bales and thereby exposed his employees to ‘avoidable risks’.
Fresco pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2 (1) of the Health and Safety At Work Act 1974 and was fined £70,000, and ordered to pay £3,500 towards costs.
Heaps, of Brockvale Close in Burtonwood, Warrington , pleaded guilty to breaching Section 37 of the Health and Safety At Work Act 1974 and was given a six-month custodial sentence, suspended for 12 months, and was told to carry out 100 hours of unpaid work. He was also ordered to pay £400 towards costs.
Speaking after the hearing, HSE inspector Helen Jones said: “This tragic incident could easily have been prevented had Fresco Environmental acted to identify and manage the risks involved.
“As managing director involved in the day to day running of the company, Lee Heaps had a responsibility to ensure that his company provided a safe working environment for its employees.
“In failing to do so he exposed employees, including Mr Wright, to significant risk.”
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This seems a very lenient penalty for the loss of life.