26/05/2010 - Firm fined over workplace accident
A St Helens firm has been fined after a worker had parts of two fingers cut off by the blades of a high-speed fan.
The plastics recycling factory worker sustained serious injuries to four fingers on his left hand while repairing a drying unit at Roydon Granulation Ltd on Fishwicks Industrial Estate, Baxters Lane, on May 19, 2009. The employee, who wishes to remain anonymous, had his hand injured by the fan which rotates 1,450 times a minute.
The firm, of Fieldhouse Road, Rochdale, was fined £15,000 at St Helens Magistrates' Court after being prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) for putting workers at risk. The company's procedure for repairing the fan was inadequate, an investigation by the HSE found.
HSE inspector Richard Clarke said: "One of the factory's employees suffered serious injuries because basic health and safety procedures were not followed. He has still not returned to work more than a year on from the incident.
"By law, the preferred solution would have been for the workers to switch off and lock off the power supply to the fan with padlocks. If this was not possible, then temporary guards should have been put in place. These or other equally effective measures were not taken."
Copyright © Press Association 2010
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