Domingos da Conceicao Freitas, 28, had to have his right arm amputated after it was trapped between a roller and the belt of a moving conveyor on August 17 2012. The incident occurred at Multi Services Kent (MSK) Waste Management and Recycling Ltds site on River Road in Barking.
As a result, MSK registered to Station Road in Sidcup was fined 10,000 and also ordered to pay a further 5,944 in costs plus 5,000 in compensation after pleading guilty to a single breach of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998.
According to the Health & Safety Executive (HSE), agency worker Mr Freitas is no longer able to work and now struggles with day-to-day tasks such as washing and dressing.
HSE prosecuted MSK after an investigation identified that the Barking sites conveyor system posed a risk because it was missing important safety guards.
Court hearing
Westminster Magistrates Court heard this week (23 October) that Mr Freitas was working on a picking line to sort waste and transfer materials to different bins, HSE said.
According to HSE, a blockage occurred and Mr Freitas was asked by a supervisor to clear it while he and others took a break. An informal system was in place to clear blockages using a piece of wire that was pushed through an opening in the side of the conveyor frame to hook items from between the roller and the belt.
HSE explained further: This was an established practice that had been in place for months, possibly years. It was usually undertaken by two or three people one to use the wire, one to stop the conveyor via a control panel situated some 75 feet away and on a different level, and one to act as a go-between relaying instructions.
However, Mr Freitas attempted it on his own, and had no real option but to do so while the conveyor was still switched on because the control panel was so far away. His arm was caught and drawn into a roller as he accessed the opening in the frame.
HSE said it established that there were two such openings on the conveyor, neither of which were guarded despite sliding guards being available.
Magistrates were told the incident could have been prevented had the guards been in place, and had there been a safer system of work for clearing blockages that was properly relayed to all workers.
Life-changing
After the hearing HSE inspector Gabriella Dimitrov said: Mr Freitas has been left with a permanent, life-changing injury as a result of an incident that could easily have been avoided had the conveyor been properly guarded.
Incidents of this kind occur all too often in the recycling sector, and the onus is on companies like MSK to acknowledge the dangers posed by unsafe machines and risky methods of work for clearing blockages, and to take action. We will continue to prosecute when worker safety is compromised.
When contacted by letsrecycle.com, MSK Waste Management and Recycling Ltd could not be reached for comment.
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