A Norfolk woodworking company has been fined for failing to control its employees’ exposure to wood dust.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) inspected The Joinery Yard Limited at Sweet Briar Road industrial estate, Norwich, in November 2019. This identified failings in the company’s control measures to prevent exposure of their employees to wood dust. Enforcement action was taken as a result.
A following inspection in July 2022 showed that the company had failed to maintain standards and enforcement action was taken again. This inspection identified ongoing failings in the company’s control measures and found it had failed to take appropriate precautions to ensure the safety of workers exposed to wood dust.
The Joinery Yard Ltd of Aylsham Road, Norwich, Norfolk, pleaded guilty to breaching the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, Section 2 (1) at a hearing at Norwich Magistrates’ Court on 4 October. It was fined £25,000 and ordered to pay costs of £2,681.77.
Dust Kills campaign
In May 2023, the HSE launched a campaign aimed at the construction industry to prevent lung disease resulting from dust at work.
The Dust Kills campaign inspections have targeted construction sites across the country, as well as manufacturing businesses that use materials containing silica.
Wood dust is a respiratory sensitiser that can cause long-term health effects, including occupational asthma.
Each year in the construction industry there are thousands of preventable cases of irreversible lung disease due to past exposure to dust at work. These diseases often have a life-changing impact and can result in early death.
HSE inspector Natalie Prince said: “The fine imposed on The Joinery Yard Limited should underline to everyone in the woodworking industry that the courts, and HSE, take a failure to follow the regulations extremely seriously.
“Wood dust can cause serious health problems and all businesses need to protect their workers’ respiratory health.
“We will not hesitate to take action against companies which do not do all that they should to keep people safe.”
