Skip Manufacturer Fined £36,000 After Exposing Workers to Cancer-Causing Welding Fumes

A Lancashire skip manufacturer has been ordered to pay more than £36,000 in fines and costs after failing to protect its workforce from hazardous welding fumes linked to cancer. Samson Containers Ltd, based in Thornton-Cleveleys, was penalised following a string of health and safety breaches involving inadequate ventilation and a lack of protective equipment.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) had issued enforcement notices to the company in both 2024 and 2025. Despite these warnings, investigators found that employees continued to work without proper local exhaust ventilation or suitable personal protective equipment (PPE). The firm also failed to implement necessary monitoring for noise exposure in its facility.

At a recent court hearing, Samson Containers Ltd was fined £30,000. The company was also ordered to pay £4,571 in legal costs and a victim surcharge of £2,000.

Engineering Firm Fined After Warehouse Fall

The case is one of several high-profile health and safety rulings against UK companies this week. In Scotland, Food Process Engineering Ltd was fined £50,000 following the death of 32-year-old worker Steven Tervit.

The incident occurred in late 2022 at a facility in Renfrew while Mr Tervit was dismantling a cleanroom. He fell approximately four metres from a scissor lift when the equipment became unstable. An HSE investigation found that the company had conducted an inadequate risk assessment and failed to ensure that A-frame props were used to secure the lift during the operation. In addition to the fine, the firm was ordered to pay a £3,750 victim surcharge.

Prison Sentence and Heavy Fines in Biomass Fatality

In a separate case in Northern Ireland, a biomass company and one of its employees faced sentencing following a fatal incident in early 2022. McKinstry Biomass Ltd was fined £120,000 after employee Ian McCollum was killed at a site in Newry.

A colleague, Walter Manley, was sentenced to three years and four months in prison for manslaughter after driving a telehandler over the victim twice. Investigators from the Health and Safety Executive for Northern Ireland (HSENI) identified significant failings in the company's transport risk management at the Carnbane Business Park site.

Construction and Retail Firms Hit with Penalties

Safety regulators have also targeted firms in the construction and retail sectors this week:

• Keighley Construction: Clover Access System Ltd and STM360 Ltd were fined nearly £80,000 collectively after a scaffolder suffered severe injuries in early 2025. Worker James Cranswick fell 20 feet through a skylight at a site in Keighley, resulting in a broken arm, a broken leg, and head injuries. The HSE described the incident as entirely avoidable.

• Retail Safety: In Hanley, giftware company Emma Bridgewater Ltd was fined £266,666 following an incident in late 2024. A snow machine fell from a shop window, causing a glass shard to strike and injure a 12-year-old girl. The investigation found the company's risk assessment for the display was inadequate. The firm was also ordered to pay £4,931 in costs and a £2,000 surcharge.

Environmental Monitoring at Sunderland Quarry

Beyond courtroom penalties, environmental regulators have taken action over industrial dust control. The Environment Agency recently released a report finding that Ashcourt failed to adequately control dust emissions at its Springwell Village quarry in Sunderland.

Mobile monitoring units are being deployed to the area after residents reported finding dust at their homes. Local community members have called for operations at the quarry to be paused until more effective mitigation measures are established.

en | boerse | 69730431 |