Company fined over toxic emissions
09/02/2010
A recycling company has been fined £140,000 after ventilation problems exposed workers to potentially harmful emissions.
The 20 workers were exposed to toxic mercury fumes at a site in Huddersfield run by Electrical Waste Recycling Group Ltd, with levels above those set out in UK guidance.
The firm admitted five breaches of regulations - one of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974, three of the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002, and one of the Control of Lead at Work Regulations 2002. Company director Craig Thompson, 38, of Huddersfield, was fined £5,000 after admitting breaching the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002.
EWR exposed workers to potentially harmful emissions from mercury and lead between October 2007 and August 2008, Bradford Crown Court heard. The Glasgow-based firm recycles electrical equipment, including fluorescent light tubes containing mercury and TV sets and monitors containing lead.
HSE Inspector Jeanne Morton said: "The company failed to see the risks created by their recycling work and failed to develop effective plans for safe working. They also did nothing to check their workers' health after exposure."
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