Scrap metal firm fined £2m over death of worker

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A company and three of its bosses have been fined more than £2m over the death of a worker who suffered catastrophic head injuries at a scrap metal recycling plant in Oldbury.

Father-of-one Stuart Towns, aged 34, had been working for Alutrade Ltd just three months when the tragedy happened at the Tat Bank Road site on 24 July, 2017.

CCTV footage shows Mr Towns had walked into an area underneath a hopper, which housed powerful engines used to feed a conveyor belt with scrap metal for processing.

A gate preventing workers from getting to the area had broken, and the machine should have been shut down and isolated if any kind of maintenance or cleaning work needed to be done on it.

Minutes later, his body was discovered by distraught colleagues. He’d suffered catastrophic head injuries and died at the scene.

Four days earlier, forklift driver Mr Towns had been told not to work so close to the hopper after being spotted by Managing Director Malcolm George.

He was spotted on CCTV working dangerously close to the machinery 40 minutes before his death, but George, who was stood nearby, took no action.

A major investigation by West Midlands Police detectives and the Health & Safety Executive saw an entire month’s worth of CCTV analysed, with hundreds of breaches found. They included:
•    Workers jumping up and down on metal in a hopper to clear blockages
•    A forklift truck driven by Malcolm George being used to lift Mr Towns 18ft into the air to clear a blockage, with no safety rigging.
•    Staff walking on a conveyor belt to clear blockages.

£2m fine

Last month at Wolverhampton Crown Court, Alutrade Ltd admitted corporate manslaughter. They were sentenced at the same court on 25 March.

George, 55, of Bromsgrove, Director Kevin Pugh, 46, from Sutton Coldfield, and Health and Safety Manager Mark Redfern, 61, of Rowley Regis, were initially charged with Gross Negligence Manslaughter, but instead pleaded guilty to breaches of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974.

They admitted the charge on the basis that their failings didn’t cause the death, but together the management of the company amounted to corporate manslaughter.

  • Alutrade Ltd was fined £2m with £105,514 costs, at Wolverhampton Crown Court.
  • Malcolm George was fined £15,000 and ordered to pay costs of £7,109.
  • Kevin Pugh was fined £5,318 and ordered to pay £3,854 costs.
  • Mark Redfern was fined £2,635 and the company ordered to pay his costs.

Dangerous working practices

Senior investigating officer Det Insp Hannah Whitehouse said: “Stuart’s death should never have happened, but sadly it was an incident waiting to happen. “He and other staff at Alutrade Ltd were operating in a culture where dangerous working practices were regularly overlooked. “You do not need a detailed understanding of health and safety legislation to know from watching the footage that workers were frequently allowed to risk their lives.

“The company put profit before health and safety and it cost Stuart his life. I hope today’s convictions and hefty fines act as a deterrent to anyone else involved in the industry who hasn’t got their workers’ safety as the top priority.”

Mr Towns’ family said today: “After five years we now feel we can start to focus on the happy times we shared as a family with Stuart.

“We hope that lessons can be learned from the way that Stuart died and hope that no other family goes through what we have been through.

“It’s now time for us to focus on the good memories we have of Stuart.”

HSE inspector Jan Willets said: “Serious injuries to workers in waste and recycling are too common; and robust health and safety management by employers would reduce the risk.

“If the gates preventing access to the conveyor had been repaired, workers would not have been put at risk and Stuart Towns’ fatal injuries could have been prevented.”

Carlsberg fined £3m following ammonia gas leak

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Carlsberg has been fined £3 million after a contractor died and another was seriously injured following an ammonia gas leak at one of its breweries.

The incident happened at Carlsberg’s site in Northampton. An HSE investigation found Carlsberg hadn’t put proper controls in place.

Father-of-two David Chandler, 45, was killed and David Beak, now 57, was seriously injured.

David Chandler was a father of two, from Bridge North, Shropshire. His family said they welcomed the end of the case against Carlsberg and hoped no other families would have to suffer as they have.

Birmingham Crown Court heard that at its Northampton brewery Carlsberg had failed to put in place appropriate isolation controls to prevent exposure to ammonia before work started to remove a compressor from a refrigeration system.

The Principal Contractor for the project was Crowley Carbon UK Ltd, which had appointed numerous contractors to assist in the works.

On 9 November 2016 while the compressor was being removed, there was a large, uncontrolled release of ammonia.

David Chandler and David Beak were both employees of sub-contractor Speedrite NE Ltd.

Twenty people needed hospital checks after showing symptoms of ammonia exposure. It was several days before the leak was contained and gas levels dropped to a safe level. David Beak, of Failsworth in Oldham, was seriously injured.

Carlsberg Supply Company UK Ltd, who were summonsed under their new company name of Carlsberg Marston’s Brewing Company, pleaded guilty to charges under Section 2(1) and Section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, and Regulation 3(1) of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999. The company was fined £3 million with costs of £90,000.

Mr Chandler’s family, in a statement, said: “We welcome the conclusion of the prosecution case against Carlsberg UK Supply Company Ltd following the death of David five and half years ago.

“As a family we will never fully accept the death of David in such tragic but preventable circumstances and the legal process involved has been emotionally exhausting as well as frustrating given the length of time which has lapsed since the accident.

“We are pleased that improvements have been made at Carlsberg’s site in Northampton which will hopefully ensure no other families suffer the anguish we have endured since November 2016 when the failings at the brewery resulted in the deadly release of ammonia gas which caused David’s death.

“David was a loving husband, adoring Daddy and much-loved brother and Uncle. We are devastated that his young family will not be able to share their lives with him as they grow. He was a larger-than-life character whose loss has left a massive void nothing can replace.

“There have already been so many special and precious moments which David has missed out on and the fact that there will continue to be some many more as his daughters grow into young ladies breaks all our hearts daily. He is missed every day, and our lives will not ever be the same without him.”

HSE Principal Inspector Samantha Wells said: “Industry guidance on safe isolation of plant should have been followed. This would have ensured that a higher level of isolation was in place, for prevention of exposure to this highly toxic and flammable substance.

“Both the client, Carlsberg, and the Principal Contractor should have worked together to ensure that the risk was adequately managed. Not only Carlsberg had a duty here. There was also a very clear duty on the Principal Contractor.

“This underlines the dangers of not following industry guidance when working with toxic and flammable substances – HSE will take action against all who fail to ensure the safety of employees and others who may be exposed to danger.

“Projects involving multiple contractors require effective management arrangements, so it’s clear who is responsible for every part of the work and that safety checks are carried out before allowing work to start.”

The Health and Safety Executive also brought a case against Crowley Carbon Ltd in relation to the incident which led to the death of Mr Chandler and the injuries to Mr Beak, which were also due to be tried but for the company being placed into compulsory administration by creditors.

Mining company fined £3.6m after electricians suffer burns

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A mining company has been fined after two electricians suffered severe burns in separate incidents.

The owners of Boulby Mine in Saltburn-by-the-Sea were fined £3.6 million and ordered to pay costs of £185,000 after an investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).

Cleveland Potash Limited (CPL) own the mine, which extracts organic fertiliser known as Polyhalite. Teesside Crown Court heard that on the 3 August 2016 a contract electrician received serious burns from an 11,000-volt electrical system. He had unknowingly placed a vacuum cleaner nozzle into a live electrical chamber and had to be air lifted to Newcastle hospital specialist burns unit, where he was placed in an induced coma for 10 days.

Another electrical contractor made contact with a live conductor on a 415-volt electrical system during electrical testing works, and received serious burns on the 12 February 2019. He was hospitalised for six days.

The HSE found deficiencies from the owner of the mine in risk assessment, planning of works, and shortfalls in providing warnings about which parts of the electrical systems the two electricians were working on remained live.

CPL pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2 (1) and two counts of Section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974.

HSE Specialist Regulatory Principal Inspector Paul Bradley said: “These serious electrical incidents were easily preventable. CPL should have had a heightened awareness of electrical risks following the first incident in 2016, however failures to apply learnings and to adequately control risks resulted in the 2019 incident”.

“Employers should make sure they properly assess and apply effective control measures to minimise risks when working on electrical systems. Both these incidents were preventable if long established electrical safety practices been applied.”