Worker’s finger amputated after trapping hand in machine
An agricultural firm has been fined after an employee lost a finger when his hand became trapped in a machine.
A male worker at CYO Seeds Ltd was cleaning a machine at a site in Shipbourne, Tonbridge, Kent, on 10 February 2021, when his glove was caught by a rotating device. His handed became trapped and his right index finger was amputated.
An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found the company had removed part of the outer casing of the machine and had replaced it with a sliding cover. The cover was easily removable and exposed dangerous parts of the machine when it was running. When cleaning the machine at the end of the working day, it was common practice to run the machine for a short period of time with the sliding cover removed.
Read more about the accident on the HSM website.
Giant aquarium home to 1,500 fish bursts at Berlin hotel
A massive aquarium has burst in Berlin, spilling one million litres of water and 1,500 tropical fish on to the lobby of a hotel and nearby streets.
Two people were injured by flying glass, according to the emergency services, as the 25m-high tank exploded. Hundreds of hotel guests had to be evacuated.
Guests staying at the Radisson hotel heard a loud noise at 5.45am that sounded like a bomb, one witness told n-tv, a local news channel.
More than 100 police and fire brigade workers were at the scene.
The attraction, called the Aquadom, was the world’s biggest freestanding cylindrical tank.
Water flooded from the complex, which also holds a museum, shops and cafes, into Karl Liebknecht Strasse, a major road, which was closed after the incident.
The road and pavements outside the complex were littered with debris.
For more on the incident, visit the Sky News website.
Moving and handling materials in construction: early findings from HSE’s latest health campaign
A snapshot of good and bad manual-handling practices on construction sites across Great Britain has been revealed in six weeks of inspections.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) carried out more than 1,000 inspections in October and November, checking how workers were moving heavy, bulky and awkward-to-handle materials.
The inspections by Britain’s national regulator for workplace health and safety revealed many examples of good practice.
These included the use of mechanical equipment to handle large glazing panes, using small inexpensive air bags to help to position heavy doors when being installed, and the use of all-terrain pallet trucks to move blocks and brick-lifters to carry bricks around site.
But HSE inspectors also found many examples of poor practice, including a worker lifting an 80kg kerb on his own without any assistance from machinery, lifting aids or colleagues, and a 110kg floor saw that had to be moved into and out of a work van by two operatives at a street works site, both of which resulted in enforcement action.
Read more on the HSE website.
Peoplesafe partners with Crimestoppers to ‘keep communities safer’
Peoplesafe has partnered with independent charity Crimestoppers, who have worked for almost 35 years, supporting people to speak up anonymously about crime.
The new partnership will involve campaigns and awareness raising of personal safety issues with a wider audience, and aims to fulfil the mission to help keep people safe.
Crimestoppers performs a key role within the public, private and law enforcement sectors, providing telephone and online services through which people can pass on vital information about crime, anonymously. That means no personal details are ever asked for or stored by Crimestoppers. They listen and pass on what you know to the relevant law enforcement agency.
Peoplesafe apps and safety devices are said to currently protect ‘over 200,000’ people, providing businesses and employees with ‘instant’ access to an Alarm Receiving Centre (ARC) both in and out of working hours.
Learn more about the partnership on the SHP website.
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