Prosecutions

Aberdeen Sheriff Court recently fined the papermill £6,000 after they pleaded guilty to a breach of Section 2 of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974.  The Health and Safety Executive (HSE), who brought the successful prosecution, also highlighted that laws of this kind go back to the 19th century, and that standards for safeguarding machinery were well publicised.

The fine comes after a man had to have his arm amputated when it became caught in machinery on 13 January 2009, despite legislation being enacted more than a century ago to safeguard workers in these situations. 

Since the incident, the paper mill has ceased production for other reasons.

The injured person was employed as a machine assistant in January when a paper break occurred which meant the paper had to be re-fed - known as tail feeding.  While he was attempting to throw the sheet of paper into the machine the man was pulled into the workings by the paper which wrapped itself around his left arm.

The investigating inspector from the HSE said:

"This was a very serious incident and a Dickensian-style event considering the age of the legislation in place to protect workers. Had a colleague of the injured worker not acted as quickly as he did in stopping the machine, there could have had fatal consequences as his whole body could have been pulled into the machine."

"Investigation of the incident by HSE identified that the safety barrier provided was completely inadequate as a means of preventing access to the dangerous parts of the machine."

"There has been a legal requirement to safeguard the dangerous parts of machinery in Great Britain since the 19th Century and incidents of this serious and traumatic nature should not be occurring in the 21st century. The expected safeguarding standards for machinery in the paper industry have been well publicised following a history of serious machinery incidents."