Worker Suffers Serious Injury at Fertiliser Company.
A North East fertiliser company has been fined after a worker was seriously injured when a 600kg bag of ammonium nitrate fell on him.
The worker was a part of a team clearing up a spillage after several bags of ammonium nitrate fell from a stack at the warehouse, in Middlesbrough.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE), prosecuting, were told that the men were working near the remaining stack of bags which were stacked three high and had noticed that two bags on the third layer were leaning to one side. One of the bags from the third layer fell and struck the worker on the back, forcing him over and causing him to strike his head on the floor. He suffered a serious back injury, a fractured right thigh and ligament damage to his left leg.
He was in hospital for three weeks following the incident, had to wear a back brace for five months and later underwent surgery on his back. He has not been able to return to work since the 29 April 2008 incident due to ongoing back pain and limited movement.
The company was fined a total of £10,500 and ordered to pay £12,411.45 in costs after pleading guilty to two offences, one breach of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 and one breach of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999.
"The incident highlights the importance for all companies in the fertiliser industry to ensure that they have effective arrangements in place for the safe stacking and de-stacking of fertiliser bags and for dealing with bag falls from stacks." Health and Safety Executives.
Updated on 9/1/2011