| Quarry firm fined over stonemason's silicosis |
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| Friday, 16 November 2007 | |
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A quarry company from Darlington has been fined nearly £13,000 after an employee contracted the fatal disease silicosis. Dunhouse Quarry Co of Darlington, County Durham was fined £3,750 and ordered to pay costs of more than £8,000 after pleading guilty to breaching the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health by failing to ensure that employees' exposure to Respirable Crystalline Silica (RCS) was adequately controlled. Following a routine, unannounced inspection Health and Safety Executive (HSE) discovered that an employee had contracted silicosis and that a number of others had been exposed to levels of RCS in excess of the workplace exposure limit. HSE inspector Andrea Robbins said: "Breathing in the very fine dust of crystalline silica can lead to the development of silicosis, which in its most acute form can result in premature death. It is vital employers monitor dust levels to assess the risk of exposure to RCS, and that they put control measures in place to reduce the levels to which employees are exposed, and consequently reduce their risk of developing silicosis. "What makes this particular situation worse is that the company had previously commissioned the services of an external company to carry out atmospheric monitoring of dust levels, including RCS but did nothing to act upon the findings despite one employee being exposed to levels up to 45 times the maximum exposure limit as it was then, which was three times higher than the current workplace exposure limit. "This prosecution serves to publicise the need for employers to be vigilant in identifying substances which can affect their workers' health. In particular, companies who generate stone dust, which contains silica, must take precautions to protect the health of their employees. Trades most at risk include stonemasons and quarry workers." |
