A recycling firm has been fined £250,000 following the death of a 21-year-old worker who was struck by a skip lorry.
Geraint Eagle, of Nany-Y-Moel, near Bridgend, was cleaning sensors on a weighbridge at the waste site run by Nolan Recycling Ltd when the incident happened on 2 December 2010.
The HSE told SHP that the site became wet and muddy in the winter. As lorries drove off and on the weighbridge mud would fall through the cracks and build up, covering the sensors.
Cardiff Crown Court heard that Mr Eagle, who had only been working at the site for six months, had been told to clean mud off the sensors. As he had not performed the task before, he worked alongside a more experience worker who looked out for traffic.
The two men took a break and afterwards Mr Eagle returned to the job alone. While he was lying on the ground, chipping away at the mud, a skip lorry drove onto the weighbridge and saw Mr Eagle, who picked up his tools and moved out of the way.
The driver briefly got out of his cab and went into the site office,. He then returned and drove on, unaware that Mr Eagle had returned to his work. The lorry cab had reduced visibility for up to five metres in front of it and the driver believed the bridge was empty. The lorry hit Mr Eagle, who died at the scene.
An HSE investigation into the case found that no risk assessment had been conducted into the cleaning of the sensors. Although there were barriers on site they weren’t being used. In addition, the company had no transport policy and there was ineffective segregation of pedestrians and vehicles.
The investigation found that the company had failed to give full instructions, guidance and training to staff, hadn’t monitored or supervised staff effectively, and didn’t have a proper system of maintenance in place for equipment like the weighbridge.
The HSE said there was nothing to stop lorry drivers driving on or off the weighbridge despite the maintenance work taking place, and a suitable risk assessment for the work would have identified the potential dangers of lorries mixing with pedestrians on the site.
Nolan Recycling Ltd, of The Old Quarry, Stormy Down, Pyle, pleaded guilty to a breach of section 2(1) of the HSWA 1974. On the 25 September, the company was fined a total of £250,000 and was ordered to pay costs of £53,100. As a result of the early guilty plea, their fine was reduced from £375,000 to £250,000.
Speaking after the hearing, HSE inspector, Sarah Baldwin-Jones, said: “This was a horrific incident with tragic consequences. It left Mr Eagle’s girlfriend without a partner, and his son, born eight months after the incident, without a father.
“There were multiple failings at the site, which should have been obvious and could easily have been addressed. Nolan Recycling Ltd should have closed the weighbridge while the work was taking place, had a clear written risk assessment for the maintenance work and had policies in place to separate site workers from moving vehicles.
“There can be no excuse for companies in the waste industry not taking reasonable steps to safeguard their workers as there is a wealth of information and guidance from trade bodies as well as the HSE.”
In mitigation, the company have since put a new weighbridge in place, and radically overhauled the systems they have in place. There is a new entrance to the site to segregate vehicles and pedestrians, and maintenance tasks were identified and completed. Nolan Recycling Ltd also entered an early guilty plea, as a result of which, the fine was reduced by a third.
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A recycling firm has been fined £250,000 following the death of a 21-year-old worker who was struck by a skip lorry.