A wood supplier has been fined £40,000 for failing to protect its workers from exposure to wood dust.
Fakenham-based Nat Pal Limited was visited by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) in April 2023, which found dust scattered across the floor, and the inspection identified failings in the company's control measures to prevent exposure of their employees to wood dust, and enforcement action was taken.
The HSE investigation also identified ongoing failings in the company's control measures and found that it had failed to take appropriate precautions despite previous enforcement on the same issues dating back to 2015.
Breathing in wood dust excessively can cause asthma and nasal cancer. Employers must take effective measures to prevent exposure of their employees to wood dust, normally by:
Nat Pal Limited pleaded guilty to a charge contrary to the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, in that it failed to ensure, so far as was reasonably practicable, the health, safety and welfare at work of its employees, as it failed to manage the risks created by operating a wood-working business.
The company was fined £40,000 and ordered to pay costs of £4,072.
After the hearing, HSE inspector, Natalie Prince said: "The fine imposed on Nat Pal Limited should underline that HSE take a failure to protect the health of employees extremely seriously".
"To make matters worse, this company had been visited previously and had failed to take steps to protect its workers".
"We will not hesitate to take action against companies which fail to do all they can".
For more information on this subject, see:
