C F Booth Ltd was sentenced at Rotherham Magistrates Court yesterday (June 1) over serious safety dangers on a conveyor at its Armer Street site in December 2013.
The Court heard that Ryan Jackson, a 25-year-old worker from Rawmarsh, had been attempting to remove a blockage from the conveyor. He had believed the machine would need an electrician to restart it once it had cut out.
However, once Mr Jackson had cleared the debris the machine started running and his arm was drawn in. He suffered three breaks to his arm and a cracked shoulder blade as a result of the incident.
Mr Jackson required surgery to remove a nerve from his calf to try to repair the arm damage, which resulted in a loss of feeling in his leg. He has not been able to return to work since.
An investigation carried out by the Health & Safety Executive (HSE) found a guard by the tail drum where Mr Jackson was operating had been removed and there was no emergency stop button.
Guard
HSE told the Court that the tail drum of the conveyor had previously had a mesh guard but this had been removed at some point prior to the incident.
And, while there was an emergency stop cord down one side of the conveyor, there was nothing immediately to hand by the tail drum.
HSE noted that guarding on the whole conveyor was insufficient, with C F Booth Ltd implementing no management system to check that guards were in place and that emergency pull cords were working. The company had also received written advice from HSE in May 2013 relating to the guarding of end drums on other conveyors on the site.
C F Booth Ltd pleaded guilty to breaching the Health and Safety at Work Act and was also ordered to pay costs of £1,595.
‘Horrifying’
After the hearing, HSE inspector Carol Downes said: “This was a horrifying incident that has left Mr Jackson with perhaps a permanent physical impairment. It also had a profound psychological impact on him at a crucial time for a young family.
“Incidents of this kind occur all too frequently in the recycling sector and the onus is on companies, like CF Booth Ltd, to acknowledge the dangers posed by unguarded machinery in general, and tail end drums of conveyors in particular, and to take action. The company had been warned before and there can be no excuse for its subsequent failings.”
She added: “Employers have a duty to ensure that machinery is properly guarded and should take steps to ensure that guards remain in place. HSE will continue to prosecute when worker safety is compromised.”
When contacted by letsrecycle.com, C F Booth Ltd declined to comment.
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