16/11/2010 - Recycling company fined £13,000
A recycling firm has been fined £13,000 after nitrogen gas in a machine caused a worker to pass out and have to be rescued by a colleague.
Stephen Barnes was working on a fridge-recycling machine when he became unconscious at the Overton Recycling plant in Rufford Street, Lye. Halesowen magistrates heard it was common for the workers at the site to climb into a chute to clear blockages and this is what Mr Barnes, 47, had done.
Nitrogen gas was present in the machine as the fridges had the potential to explode. A Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigation found the firm had not carried out a sufficient risk assessment to identify risks involved with climbing into a confined space. It said the firm should have had a system in place to clear blockages without members of staff being required to climb into the chute.
It also said the presence of the nitrogen gas in the machine's chute had not been assessed before the workers got into the machine. Overton Recycling, which also had to pay £6,107 costs, admitted breaching Regulation 3(1) of the Confined Spaces Regulations 1997 and Regulation 3(1) of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999.
Copyright © Press Association 2010
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