Regulators join forces in health & safety clampdown

A joint investigation by the Health & Safety Executive (HSE) and the Environment Agency into an explosion at a Lancashire waste management site cost the operator £195,000 – and underscores the willingness of regulatory bodies to pool resources.

Chemical business Personnel Hygiene Services (PHS) Ltd was fined £150,000 with £45,000 costs after being prosecuted by the HSE for a breach of the Health and Safety at Work Act.

The case is a sobering reminder to all employers of the crucial need to meet their regulatory obligations. Just as importantly, it illustrates how regulatory authorities can operate together to maximise resources and bring the full force of law down on offending businesses.

Liverpool Crown Court was told that three workers sustained serious burns in the explosion, which happened at Burscough Industrial Estate in October 2010 when a card board box containing aerosol cans was put into an industrial shredder.

Nearly 60 police officers were called in to manage road closures near the site and there was extensive damage to the large warehouse housing the shredder.

The joint investigation discovered that PHS did not have a procedure for checking the contents of boxes of waste materials delivered to the site. In addition, the firm failed to ensure that a chemical specialist was checking waste for flammable substances before going into the shredder. A risk assessment in April 2010 was also found to be wholly inadequate.

After the case, HSE correctly emphasised that PHS could and should have done more to protect the lives of its employees and the public. It pointed out that the firm should not have assumed it could feed cardboard boxes into the industrial shredder without checking their contents.

It is difficult enough in the current climate for businesses to operate profitably without sustaining huge fines for failing to comply with their legal duties.

Moreover, the PHS case in particular shows how easy it can be for a hard-pressed business to overlook vital aspects of Health and Safety legislation, and to ignore and deal with the very serious reputational issues that can arise from HSE investigation and prosecution.

Businesses must take a proactive approach to risk management in order to make it possible for them to reduce the risk of investigation and prosecution by the HSE and other regulators, and seek to reduce the potentially severe financial and reputational consequences that go with it.

If you require further information on complying with health and safety laws, or any other regulatory legal matter, contact David Edwards on 01772 258321 or David.Edwards@harrison-drury.com