Cleanzine: your weekly cleaning and hygiene industry newsletter 25th April 2024 Issue no. 1111
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Company fined after worker injured by 300kg batteries
A recycling company in West Yorkshire has been fined £120,000 after batteries weighing at least 300Kg fell onto an employee and severely injured him.
The man was working with two colleagues at Wastecare's site on North Dean Business Park, Halifax, in March 2019 when he was struck by the batteries being recycled.
The three workers had been restacking the batteries that were stored in Flexible Intermediate Bulk Containers (FIBCs) after one had toppled over. However, the FIBCs started to rip in front of them, leading to the batteries falling on to one of the workers.
He suffered a double compound fracture to his lower right leg, a fracture to the left tibia, a fractured right collar bone, some bruising to his ribs and a cut on his forehead.
A Health and Safety Executive investigation found that Wastecare failed to ensure the health, safety & welfare of its employees at work. The site was overstocked, bags of batteries had been stacked in an unsafe manner and there was no specific documented risk assessments or safe systems of work for the correct stacking and storage of batteries. This was not an isolated incident.
Wastecare, of Normanton Industrial Estate, Normanton, West Yorkshire, pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2 (1) of the Health & Safety at Work etc Act 1974. The company was fined £120,000 and ordered to pay £4,937.39 in costs at Leeds Magistrates' Court on 21st February 2024.
"There are specific Industry Standards and Guidance relating to Flexible Intermediate Bulk Containers which provides users with information on a range of aspects relating to their use including filling, discharging, handling and storage," says HSE inspector Jackie Ferguson.
"This incident could so easily have been avoided by implementing simple control measures and safe working practices to ensure the batteries were stacked safely and securely. The industry should be aware that HSE will not hesitate to take appropriate enforcement action against those that fall below the required standards."
HSE guidance says FIBCs must not be stacked unless the FIBC is designed to be stacked and only then should it be stacked in either a pyramid form or against two walls. Learn more about HSE guidance at:
7th March 2024