Plastics Manufacturer Prosecuted after Worksite Death

Plastics manufacturer TS(UK) Ltd has been slapped with a fine of £140,000 following an accident where one of its employees was crushed to death after a wooden pallet weighing more than one tonne fell on him.

The incident took place at Middleton’s Stakehill Industrial Estate on July 15’ 05. The company was prosecuted by the HSE for not failure to safeguard the health and safety of its employees and not providing suitable First-Aid training to an on-duty worker.

Last year, there were more than 30 fatalities and close to 22,000 severe injuries reported in the manufacturing industry.

Abel Lages was busy cleaning the yard when a wooden pallet filled with 55 bags of polypropylene dropped down on him. He was stuck inside and died after sustaining serious injuries. Polypropylene is used to make plastic items such as buckets and washing bowls. It is unsafe to stack the material as it can very easily tip out of a hole in the bag and make the sack lop-sided.

HSE’s Principal Inspector in the Greater Manchester region, John McGrellis said that TS (UK) had failed to ensure the safety of its employees. He said that Lages’ death could have been avoided if the company hadn’t been negligent. McGrellis added that polypropylene bags contained labels that clearly described how to store the bags safely, but the company had been indifferent to this advice.

The company pleaded guilty to violating Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and Regulation 3(2) of the Health and Safety (First Aid) Regulations 1981. Apart from a £140,000 fine, it had to pay up £10,588 towards costs of prosecution.

Article created by Editor. (info@safetynetscotland.co.uk)