IOSH courses news: Recycling firm fined for mercury exposure

Category: IOSH Working Safely
Monday 8th of February 2010

A firm has been fined after its workers were exposed to mercury fumes because of poor ventilation.

Staff at the recycling plant at School Lane in Huddersfield dealt with electrical equipment, such as fluorescent light tubes which contain mercury and monitors and TVs which use lead.

When tested for the potentially toxic substance, 20 members of staff had mercury levels above the UK guidance amount and five showed extremely high levels, findings which may surprise those on IOSH courses.

Some had reported ill health following the exposure, with one pregnant worker concerned over the effects on her unborn child.

Glasgow-based Electrical Waste Recycling Group was fined £140,000 plus costs, while managing director Craig Thompson was given a £5,000 fine by Bradford Crown Court.

Health and Safety Executive inspector Jeanne Morton said: "Workers have a right to expect a reasonable level of protection in the workplace and employers have a legal duty to provide it."

In related news, CNH UK, an Essex-based tractor company, was fined in December after an engineer almost suffocated following a nitrogen gas leak.

Posted by Sam Lowther

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