Truck driver Adrian Turner, 50, had been delivering scrap to the site and was directed to deliver his load to the metal shredder area of the yard. Mr Turner left his cab when a one-and-a-half ton metal bale on the scrap pile came loose and rolled down 20 feet straight onto him.
Wolverhampton resident Mr Turner had not received any site safety induction from Sims UK Ltd and was following instructions given by Sims operatives when he was killed.
Sims pleaded guilty to a charge under Section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 by Cardiff Crown Court in the case brought by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).
Section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 states: “It shall be the duty of every employer to conduct his undertaking in such a way as to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, that persons not in his employment who may be affected thereby are not thereby exposed to risks to their health or safety.”
Commenting on the case, HSE inspector Sarah Baldwin-Jones said: “Metal recycling yards can be extremely dangerous places so it's imperative companies have safe working procedures and systems in place that are observed by all staff and contractors.
“This tragic incident arose because it was custom for the loading of scrap onto the stockpile even though delivery drivers were in the immediate vicinity of it.”
Ms Baldwin-Jones added that the size and nature of the stockpile, combined with the method used to feed it meant that it was “highly likely that materials would fall.”
In the wake of the verdict, Mr Turner's family issued the following statement: “While the financial penalty handed down to Sims Group UK Ltd offers little comfort to our family we hope that it serves a warning to those companies operating in the waste recycling industry.
“It should be an absolute priority to ensure death and injury to employees and others on site is avoided. We have been torn apart by Adrian's death and wish that no other family has to endure the loss of a loved one in the manner we did.”
Response
Sims Group offered its condolences to Mr Turner's family and said it had issued a guilty plea in respect of a failure to “fully risk assess a very specific aspect of its scrap handling process which may have reduced the risk of such an incident occurring”.
A spokesman for the firm said: “Sims takes health and safety extremely seriously. The company has made every effort to prevent such a tragedy from happening again and a full review of the scrap handling process has been undertaken.
“The company has cooperated fully with the Health and Safety Executive at all stages of their investigations,” he added.
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