Bam Nuttall Ltd and Four Tees Engineering have both been found guilty of several breaches of the health and safety act after workers were exposed to lead while working on a site in the Solent.
Two men – Russell Leggett and Robert Peach – were part of the team refurbishing the Nab Tower who had to receive hospital treatment after breathing in lead dust and fumes which was uncovered when steel covered in lead based paint was cut into by the pair.
Lead levels in both men’s blood was found to be substantially above acceptable levels, with Leggett’s found to be almost double normal at 110 compared to the safe level of 60. Peach’s blood measured 97. The two workers underwent specialist intensive care in hospital and it took months for their blood levels to return to an acceptable level.
Severe exposure to lead can cause permanent damage to nerves and organs if not treated.
Bam Nuttall, from Surrey, was the main contractor on the site and sub-contracted Hampshire based Four Tees to remove steel from the tower, which involved workers from both companies using industrial torches.
Portsmouth Crown Court was told Bam Nuttall failed to identify fully the need for lead control measures to be put in place. Four Tees was also found culpable by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) because it also failed to ensure adequate control measures were in place, and its workers should have had access to suitable medical surveillance when dealing with potentially harmful materials. There was also nothing to stop the spread of dust at the site.
Proper procedures have been put in place by the firms on the site since the contaminations, with designated “clean” and “dirty” zones being established, and anyone working on the tower being given more effective face masks along with regular medical surveillance. Three of Bam Nuttall’s workers were also exposed to the lead dust but their blood levels were not deemed as dangerous.
HSE inspector Andrew Moore, who was at the hearing, said: “The Nab Tower exposure was serious, and demonstrates the need to properly assess and guard against potential inhalation of lead fumes and dust. The paint coating the steel was known to contain lead and it should have been handled with care from day one. Instead both companies allowed a number of unsafe practices, including eating, drinking and smoking, to continue unchallenged at the site that fuelled potential contamination.”
Bam Nuttall was fined £56,000 with a further £6,165 costs added for breaches of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974, and two breaches of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1992.
Four Tees received a £14,000 fine along with £2,081 in costs for breaching the Health and Safety at Work etc Act and Control of Lead at Work Regulations 2002.