Almost a quarter of Derbyshire skip hire and waste transfer sites visited in spot checks by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) were found to be potentially putting their workers at risk of injury.
Of the 21 sites visited by the HSE in January, five were served with enforcement notices, which forced work to stop in the most serious cases. The HSE issued 10 notices in total – four at just one site.
Most notices were issued due to “serious problems with the way vehicles are used on-site and the associated risk to employees”. A lack of controls to keep people a way from reversing vehicles was found to be a particular problem.
HSE inspector Edward Walker said: “It is totally unacceptable that lives have been lost and continue to be put at risk on waste sites. This is why we carried out the recent campaign targeting sites in Derbyshire.
“Our inspectors found that the majority of sites were operating safely. But the fact there were safety concerns on almost a quarter of the sites visited is just not good enough. The industry needs to continue to raise its game and ensure that the safety of workers is paramount.”
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