Edinburgh-based Viridor Enviroscot Ltd has been handed down a £165,000 fine after one of its workers was blinded in his left eye following an accident at the firm’s recycling facility in Glasgow.
The accident happened in September 2012 when Declan Shipcott, now 20, was working with colleagues on a baler machine which had become blocked preventing strapping wire from wrapping around it.
Mr Shipcott and his colleagues took the decision to cut the wire as they were unable to free the blockage after 30 minutes and he then opened the recoil box holding the rest of the wire. Upon opening the box, Mr Shipcott, who was not wearing safety goggles at the time, discovered a knot in the wire and cut it with his pliers causing it to strike his left eye with severe force. He was also hit in the face by the wire.
Surgeons were unable to save the sight in his eye despite an emergency operation to repair a cut on his cornea. Further operations took place a month later to reattach his retina and fix his damaged lens. As a result of the accident, Mr Shipcott will only be able to see light through the eye, and there is no hope of it improving.
During the hearing at Airdrie Sheriff Court on the 2nd December, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) said Viridor Enviroscot had a risk assessment in place for replacing the wire but none regarding cutting the wire even though cutters were provided for that very purpose. It also said it had been negligent in not ensuring all workers were provided with safety equipment such as goggles.
The company, which deals with waste recycling, pleaded guilty to breaching section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, which states “It shall be the duty of every employer to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health, safety and welfare at work of all his employees”, and has since changed its procedures so all workers now have to wear a full face visor when using the baling machine and dealing with wire at the site.
Speaking after the court case, HSE inspector Aileen Jardine said: “This incident could have easily been avoided if Viridor Enviroscot Ltd had carried out a risk assessment for the task, which would have identified the safety measures required to reduce any risks.
“The simple act of donning eye protection before working with high tensile wire may well have prevented this incident taking place. Instead, his employer’s failings led to an incident which has had real life changing consequences for this young man.”
Every year there are 80,000 non-fatal injuries to workers reported by employers with the highest rates occurring to manual workers, and those who are less experienced in their jobs. 1.9 million working days are also lost in the UK every year due to accidents in the workplace.
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