Recycling Plant Employees Exposed to Toxic Fumes
Bradford Crown Court fined a major recycling company heavily after they pleaded guilty to several charges that were brought against them by the HSE. Electrical Waste Recycling Group Ltd (EWR), formerly known as Matrix Direct Recycle Ltd, was the Glasgow-registered recycling company that was directed to pay the fine for neglecting to ensure employee health safety and endangering the lives of their employees.
A fine amounting to a total of £140,000 was imposed on EWR as they pleaded guilty to breach of section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at work Act 1974. They were directed to make payment of £35,127 as costs at the Bradford Crown Court. The company was found to be guilty of three separate breaches of the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002, and one breach of the Control of Lead at Work Regulations 2002. Deeming the top management responsible for the safety of employees, the court also fined company director Craig Thompson. He was ordered to pay £5,000 as he pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 7(1) of the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002.
During the proceedings, the court was informed that the workers of the company had been exposed to toxic fumes. The company recycles electrical equipment, including fluorescent light tubes containing mercury and TV sets and monitors containing lead at their plant on
Many of the employees had also complained to the management about ill health because of the exposure. A pregnant worker had raised concerns about the health of her unborn child. Twenty employees were diagnosed with serious medical conditions arising from the exposure and had levels of mercury in their system above
Apart from being fined by the court, the company was also issued five Improvement Notices and one Prohibition Notice by the HSE in relation to the incident.
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