A Kent recycling firm has been prosecuted after an employee had his jaw shattered into pieces like cornflakes when he was hit by a piece of plastic pipe ejected from a bandsaw.
The worker, then 42 from Chatham, who does not wish to be named, was cutting down an old gas pipe for recycling at Kingsnorth Waste Managements site in Hoo, Rochester, on 11 August 2010 when the incident happened.
As he fed the domed section of the pipe into the bandsaw, the teeth of the blade stuck into the plastic, rotated it round the domed end and ejected it. The piece was thrown out at high speed and struck him in his throat and under his chin. It broke both upper and lower jaw bones and burst his jaw hinges.
Kingsnorth Waste Management pleaded guilty (24 July) to safety failings at Dartford Magistrates Court after an investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).
The court heard the worker had undergone a number of operations, including a bone graft from his hip, over the past four years to reconstruct his jaw. He still suffers from a continual feeling of pins and needles caused by irreparable nerve damage, and has problems eating.
Investigation
Early in its investigation, the HSE identified that after the incident, there had been two further instances of plastic pipe being ejected as it was being sawn and striking the operators, including one where the worker was a 16-year-old trainee. As a result, a prohibition notice was served on Kingsnorth Waste Management preventing any further use of the bandsaws for cutting this sort of material.
‘The use of simple clamps or wedges, or the use of alternative cutting equipment, would have allowed the job to be safely carried out and avoided the life-changing injuries that this worker suffered.’
Gordon Chase, Health and Safety Executive
HSE claimed the company had not identified the added risks of using the bandsaws to cut across cylindrical material, such as the rotation and ejection of pieces from the saw. There were no measures, such as the use of jig clamps or wedges, to allow the machine to be more safely used, it added.
Kingsnorth Waste Management Ltd of Kingsnorth Industrial Estate, Hoo, Rochester, was fined 7,000 and ordered to pay 3,000 in costs after admitting a breach of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974.
After the case, HSE Inspector Gordon Chase said: Kingsnorth Waste Management should have properly investigated how the bandsaws operated and fully understood the risks of use that were outlined in the instruction manual. That simple exercise would have demonstrated the need to put effective controls in place to safeguard their employees.
The use of simple clamps or wedges, or the use of alternative cutting equipment, would have allowed the job to be safely carried out and avoided the life-changing injuries that this worker suffered. In addition, it would have not put others including a teenager in danger.
Company
Carol Blake, owner of Kingsnorth Waste Management, which has nine employees, told letsrecycle.com that the company had changed its procedures since the incident but that it had been an isolated event. She added that she was disappointed in how long it had taken the HSE to prosecute the firm.
She said: We are only a small family business and we didnt want anyone to get hurt. Unfortunately this happened in 2010 and I am gutted that the HSE has taken so long to prosecute a small company. If you win or lose a case involving the HSE you still have a huge bill and it was cheaper for me to plead guilty.
It was an isolated incident and we have never had any other health and safety incidents. As soon as the prohibition notice was served we changed everything. We have health and safety advisors and full security cameras above the machines so we can see how they are being used. The HSE has not been in since 2010 and just slapped a fine on us.
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