The Health & Safety Executive has been busy This week at theEHP. Prosecutions have led to fines totalling £214,000 and orders to pay costs of over £148,000.
Welcome to the first issue of This Week at theEHP. It is a summary of the articles that appeared on the site over the previous week. To receive This Week at theEHP as an e-newsletter register for the site, it’s free. Any comments are welcome.
Environmental Protection News
- London waste company fined for foul odours
South London waste company was fined £87,837 after admitting to a series of waste permit breaches which affected the local environment and quality of life for nearby residents. - Sutton resident fined for fly-tipping
A Sutton resident has been fined over £300 for fly-tipping and refusing to pay rubbish collection costs. - UK Air quality – best it’s been since before the industrial revolution
Air quality is the best it’s been since before the industrial revolution, but levels of particulates can still have significant health impacts reports Department for Environment Food & Rural Affairs (defra).
Food Safety News
- Kebab shop owner fined £10,000 for London salmonella outbreak
A Shepherd’s Bush kebab shop owner whose premises were the source of the worst salmonella outbreak in London for at least 15 years was fined £10,000. - US researchers rank top 10 foodborne bugs
New research highlights campylobacter, salmonella and listeria among a handful of foodborne bugs that cost the US billions of dollars a year and blight the quality of life for million of victims.
Health & Safety News
- Electrical company fined £120,000 after man left paralysed
A Hertfordshire-based electrical company has been fined £120,000 after a man was left paralysed when he was knocked from a scissor lift. - Oldham company fined £10,000 for dangerous electrics
An Oldham company has been fined £10,000 for putting its workers’ lives in danger from poorly maintained and dangerous electrics. - Farm owners fined for employee fall
Hertfordshire farm owners fined £4,000 each after an employee fell through a fragile barn roof suffering multiple fractures. - Company fined £80,000 for death of 3 people in hotel fire
A company has been fined £80,000 after three people die in a Newquay hotel fire. The fine has been described as a “travesty”. - Roofing boss fined for unsafe working conditions
A roofing boss fined £10,000 after workers removed roof tiles without scaffolding or safety barriers. - Malfunction costs firm over £70,000
Nestle Purina Petcare, a pet care company, has been fined after a malfunction in a steam pressure system resulted in five employees suffering severe burns. - Grain company fined for worker fall
An animal grain company has been fined £4,000 after one of its workers suffered head injuries after a 1.5m fall. - Cannon Automotive Ltd fined after fatal head injury to worker
Cannon Automotive Ltd fined after worker suffered fatal head injuries when he was struck by a steel barrier while carrying out maintenance on a machine. - Company and mechanic fined for death of forklift operator
Morgans Plant Hire Ltd and one of its mechanics have been fined after a forklift truck overturned, killing the driver.
Housing News
- Landlord convicted and to pay £30,000 costs for gas safety beach
A Nuneaton landlord has been given a suspended six-month prison sentence for repeatedly failing to carry out annual gas inspections on one of his properties. - Welfare minister admits ‘people may have to move’
Welfare minister Lord Freud has admitted that people “may have to move” as a result of housing benefit changes.
Public Health News
- Farm visits – hand gels no substitute for handwashing
Research shows a reliance on hand gels instead of handwashing is a risk factor associated with outbreaks at petting farms.
