(England) A Huddersfield company has been fined and ordered to pay costs totalling almost £9,000 after it polluted a river with bleach and killed hundreds of fish.

Specialist packing company Liquipak Ltd, based at Queens Mill Business Centre at Queens Mill Road, appeared at Kirklees Magistrates’ Court, where it pleaded guilty to an illegal discharge of bleach, contrary to the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2016.

The court heard that in September 2021 the bleach, sodium hypochlorite, escaped after a wooden pallet collapsed. The spilt bleach was flushed into surface water drains which discharge into the River Holme where it meets the River Colne in Huddersfield.

Over 800 dead fish were counted three kilometres downstream in the River Colne, as well as dead aquatic invertebrates, such as insects that live in water.

In mitigation the court heard the company was deeply remorseful and that it was an unfortunate accident. The court also heard the company had introduced new handling procedures for its containers and had obtained a drainage plan.

The company was ordered to pay a fine of £2,666.67 after being given credit for an early guilty plea in addition to a victim’s surcharge and prosecution costs bringing the total amount to £8,973.67.

The court heard the liquid was stored in containers. Those containing liquids are stored inside the warehouse and empty containers outside.

In September 2021 the Environment Agency received a report of dead fish in the River Colne. Officers attended and their investigation traced the source to Liquipak.

The company explained there had been a spillage of bleach inside the warehouse, which happened when a wooden pallet the containers were stacked on gave way, resulting in some of them toppling and spilling.

The contents went down a manhole cover in the warehouse. It hadn’t been reported to the Environment Agency because the company thought the manhole led to the foul sewer.

An Environment Agency officer used green dye to trace the discharge from the manhole, confirming it was a surface water drain that led to the river.

While the court agreed the incident was negligent, it accepted there were mitigating circumstances including that the company co-operated fully with the investigation, carried out a clean-up and has since taken steps around storage and operation to prevent it happening again in the future. The court accepted the offence was not commercially motivated.

— Accurate at time of publication | February 2025

The owner of a Tukwila trampoline park faces more than $68,000 in fines for not giving teen employees meal breaks, and for working them longer hours than allowed under law.

The Washington State Department of Labor & Industries (L&I) investigated and cited the company after receiving a complaint.

Flying Circus Washington LLC, doing business as Sky Zone Seattle, did not file an appeal by the deadline. This is the second time L&I cited a Sky Zone business. In 2024, L&I cited a Vancouver, Wash., location for similar violations.

Sky Zone is a franchised indoor trampoline park with a variety of attractions. There are some 200 parks across the country.

The L&I investigation at the Tukwila location started as a workplace safety complaint. It involved a teen reportedly fixing a trampoline/zip line up to 12 feet off the ground without proper training and fall protection. It resulted in the agency citing Sky Zone for failing to hold required safety meetings.

Along with the safety citation, the investigator referred the case to L&I’s youth employment standards unit. That investigation found Sky Zone permitted 57 minors to work more than five consecutive hours without a meal break on 537 occasions. Among other violations:

• 19 minors worked more than 20 hours per week during a school week 43 times.
• 34 minors worked more than four hours per day on a school day preceding another school day on 154 occasions.
• 15 minors worked more than eight hours per day on a non-school day during a school week on 32 occasions.

— Accurate at time of publication | February 2025

A Kalgoorlie engineering company has been fined $685,000, and ordered to pay $21,413 in costs, over the death of a worker.

Monadelphous Engineering Associates Pty Ltd pleaded guilty to failing to provide and maintain a safe work environment and, by that failure, causing the death of the worker, and was fined in the Kalgoorlie Magistrates Court.

The company provides maintenance and industrial services to heavy industry, including construction, painting, and abrasive blasting of metal structures.

In March 2020, the worker was acting as spotter for another worker who was using a telehandler to move a large heavy metal frame structure weighing 648kg.

The frame, which was an unstable load lacking designated lifting points, was lifted by the telehandler forks under its horizontal top bar. The frame was not secured to the forks.

While in the process of being unloaded from the telehandler, the metal frame moved off the forks and fell onto the worker, inflicting fatal crush injuries. Immediately before it fell, the worker had been inside and underneath the frame.

WorkSafe Commissioner Sally North said the case should serve as a warning to have safe work procedures in place around mobile plant, especially if that plant is supporting a load: “The court heard that neither of the workers involved in this incident had completed any specific training with respect to exclusion zones.

“Following this incident, Monadelphous issued a safety alert to all its sites instructing that no person was to enter within three metres of any load during movement using a telehandler, but unfortunately this was too late for the young man who lost his life in this incident.

“This case should serve as a reminder to workplaces using mobile plant that risk assessments need to be undertaken for each task.”

— Accurate at time of publication | February 2025

A company has been fined after an employee had three fingers severed by a panel saw at work.

David Broadway, 36, had been working at Pemberton Timber Frame Limited, a company that manufactures timber frame structures for the construction industry, at its site in Evelyn Way in Ramsgate on the morning of 4 January 2023.

He was operating a panel saw and asked to cut down the thickness of a length of timber – known as a rip cut. This process involved passing a length of timber through the panel saw multiple times as the timber exceeded the depth the blade could cut in one pass.

CCTV footage shows Mr Broadway successfully completing the cut before flipping the length of timber over, but he soon found the second cut much more difficult. He can been seen attempting to feed the timber through the saw and while receiving it from the cut end, his right hand made contact with the saw blade, instantly amputating his index, middle and ring fingers, also cutting his little finger.

The HSE’s investigation found that Mr Broadway was asked to complete a task that was not suitable for the machine he was using. Pemberton Timber Frame Ltd had also failed to ensure he received sufficient training or instruction on how to use the panel saw safely, which would have included vital information about the limitations of the saw, guarding and other safety features such as a riving knife and the use of a push stick. The saw riving knife was also absent at the time of the incident.

The investigation also discovered that the company had appropriate machines to undertake this task safely but Mr Broadway was unaware of this due to his lack of training.

Pemberton Timber Frame Ltd of The Strand, Walmer, Kent pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 at Sevenoaks Magistrates’ court. The company was fined £12,000 ordered to pay full costs of £4,034.

Speaking after the hearing, HSE principal inspector Ross Carter said: “Those in control of work have a responsibility to devise safe methods of working and to provide the necessary information, instruction and training to their workers.

“If a suitable safe system of work had been in place prior to the incident, the life changing injuries sustained by Mr Broadway would not have happened.”

Mr Broadway said the accident has massively impacted in aspects of his life: “I used to do weight lifting, ride my bike and keep active,” he said.

“I used to work a lot with my hands and I am now getting frustrated as I can’t do these things. Even normal activities like cooking or taking a shower are a challenge. It makes me feel stressed as I can’t do the everyday activities I used to do.”

Mr Broadway now also struggles to care for his children, including his young son, born after the accident.

The HSE investigation was conducted by HM inspector Simon Asakura-Cornish and the prosecution brought by HSE enforcement lawyer Samantha Wells, support by paralegal officer David Shore.

— Accurate at time of publication | January 2025

A man from south Wales has been successfully prosecuted by Natural Resources Wales (NRW) for storing quantities of waste at a site in Caerleon, without an environmental permit.

William Hanson, of Hanson Paving and Development Ltd, was ordered to pay a combined total of £5,782, after pleading guilty as the sole company director to the storing of mixed wastes and hard-core wastes at 115 Nash Road in Caerleon without an environmental permit and for failing to comply with the requirements of a notice to remove the waste.

These are offences under the Environmental Protection Act 1990 and the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2016.

Officers from NRW first visited the site in April 2023, after receiving reports of illegal waste activity at the site.

Upon arrival they found quantities of mixed waste, including soil, stones, bricks, and construction demolition waste as well as wood, plastic, and tyres. No waste exemptions or environmental permits were in place authorising any kind of waste activity at the site.

Mr. Hanson was served with a notice requiring the wastes be removed.

He was also informed by officers that the keeping or disposal of waste on land without an environmental permit or relevant exemption was unlawful and told that no further waste was to be deposited at the location.

However, during a follow up visit in November 2023, NRW officers found that Mr. Hanson had failed to fully comply with the notice and remove the waste.

Mr. Hanson pleaded guilty at Newport Magistrates Court and was sentenced and ordered to pay a fine of £1,173. He was also ordered to pay NRW costs of £4,140 and a victim surcharge of £469, bringing the overall total to £5,782.

Mr. Hanson is currently a serving prisoner. This amount will be payable upon his release.

— Accurate at time of publication | January 2025

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Justice Department, FBI, Customs and Border Protection (CBP), Department of Transportation’s Office of Inspector General (DOT-OIG), National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and state of California reached criminal and multiple civil resolutions, valued at over $1.6 billion, with Hino Motors, Ltd. (Hino Motors), Hino Motors Manufacturing U.S.A., Inc., and Hino Motors Sales U.S.A., Inc. (collectively, Hino) for violations related to the submission of false and fraudulent engine emission testing and fuel consumption data to regulators and the illicit smuggling of engines into the United States. These resolutions are subject to approval by the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan.

This unlawful conduct allowed Hino, a subsidiary of Toyota Motor Corporation, to improperly secure approvals to import and sell, and cause to be imported and sold, more than 110,000 diesel engines in the United States from 2010 to 2022. These engines were primarily installed in heavy-duty trucks manufactured and sold by Hino nationwide.

Global Resolution Details

As part of the global resolutions, Hino Motors, Ltd. has agreed to plead guilty to engaging in a multi-year criminal conspiracy. The plea agreement, which is subject to approval by the court, requires it to pay a criminal fine of $521.76 million, serve a five-year term of probation, during which it will be prohibited from importing any diesel engines it has manufactured into the United States, and implement a comprehensive compliance and ethics program and reporting structure.

Hino Motors, Ltd. has also agreed to the entry of a forfeiture money judgment against it in the amount of $1.087 billion. Pursuant to the plea agreement, Hino’s future payments towards its civil settlement obligations, as well future payments as part of a civil class action settlement brought by private plaintiffs, will be credited towards its criminal forfeiture money judgment obligation.

In separate civil resolutions of environmental, customs and fuel economy claims by the federal government and the state of California, Hino will pay a civil penalty of $525 million based on its demonstrated financial condition. The global resolution includes the second largest criminal fine and fourth largest civil penalty in the history of EPA’s mobile source programme.

Other provisions of the civil agreement include:

• A mitigation programme, valued at $155 million, to offset excess air emissions from the violations by replacing marine and locomotive engines throughout 49 states (excluding California), including the reduction of over 41,000 tonnes of nitrogen oxides (NO_x) emissions.
• A recall programme, valued at $144.2 million, to modify violative engines in 2017-2019 heavy-duty trucks so they comply with U.S. and California emissions laws.
• $123.6 million to fund mitigation projects and enforcement costs in California.
• $30.3 million to resolve California False Claims Act claims.

The EPA discovered Hino’s non-compliance as a result of conducting confirmatory testing of Hino’s engines. On 10 January 2025, EPA voided engine approvals, called “certificates of conformity,” for Hino’s 2010-2019 diesel engines for heavy-duty trucks and nonroad equipment. This is the largest voiding action ever taken by the EPA, reflecting the egregiousness of the conduct and the flagrant disregard for the EPA’s certification programme. That programme is designed to provide a level playing field for vehicle and engine manufacturers seeking to do business in the United States.

As part of its plea agreement, Hino Motors, Ltd. admits that between 2010 and 2019, it submitted and caused to be submitted false applications for engine certification approvals. Hino Motors, Ltd. engineers regularly altered emission test data, conducted tests improperly, and fabricated data without conducting any underlying tests. Hino Motors, Ltd. further admits that it submitted fraudulent carbon dioxide emissions test data, which resulted in false fuel consumption values being calculated for its engines.

Hino Motors, Ltd. engineers also failed to disclose software functions that could adversely affect engines’ emission control systems. As a result of the fraud, Hino Motors, Ltd. imported and sold over 105,000 non-conforming engines between 2010 and 2022.

The EPA estimates that Hino’s engines emitted levels of NO_x, particulate matter, carbon dioxide (CO₂), and nitrous oxide (N₂O) above the regulatory limits. Hino’s recall is designed to bring model year 2017-2019 truck engines into compliance with emissions standards. Its mitigation projects around the country will fully offset the lifetime excess emissions of all violative engines.

The proposed global civil settlement consent decree is subject to a 30-day comment period and final court approval.

— Accurate at time of publication | January 2025

An engineering company has been fined after a labourer died during the construction of a wind farm on the Shetland Islands.

Liam MacDonald, from Tain, Ross-shire, lost his life on the morning of 5th June 2022 while removing dried concrete from a skip at the Viking site on Upper Kergord.

Mr. MacDonald, an agency worker who had started working on the site just over a month earlier on 4 May 2022, had been using a hammer to chip away the concrete when the skip’s bale arm fell on top of him.

The 23-year-old was found motionless with the skip’s bale arm pinned against his chest, which led to an alarm being raised at the site.

Colleagues subsequently performed CPR on Mr. MacDonald, before administering a defibrillator, but he was sadly pronounced dead at the scene by the emergency services.

Jackie Randell, the investigating inspector from the HSE, found the principal contractor BAM Nuttall failed to secure the bale arm from falling.

The HSE investigation found the company had failed to identify the risks of the bale arm falling and failed to put in place a safe system of work to ensure that anyone using, maintaining or cleaning the skip would be protected from harm

BAM Nuttall Limited, of Knoll Road, Camberley, Surrey, pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2(1) and Section 33(1)(a) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. The company was fined £800k with a £60k victim surcharge at Inverness Sheriff Court on 18 December 2024.

Jackie Randell said: “This was a tragic incident which led to the death of a young man. Our thoughts remain with Mr MacDonald’s friends and family at this time.

“BAM Nuttall had failed in its duty to ensure the safety of their workforce. This prosecution should serve as a reminder for all contractors to implement suitable risk assessments and safe systems of work.

“We thoroughly investigated this incident, with our findings identifying that BAM Nuttall had failed in its duty to ensure the safety of their workforce. This prosecution should serve as a reminder for all contractors to implement suitable risk assessments and safe systems of work.

“Up to date safety information provided by manufacturers of work equipment must be reviewed as part of this risk assessment process. It is of crucial importance that safety information from manufacturers is highlighted to the workforce and rigorous monitoring is carried out to ensure that everyone is kept safe.”

Wendy Robson, Mr. MacDonald’s mother, said: “Liam loved life, his family and friends. He was just at the start of his adult life, still finding who he was, and full of hopes and dreams.

“We have been robbed of having Liam here today, and in all our tomorrows, and in sharing those dreams with him. We will never meet the children he so wanted to have one day.

“We can’t adequately describe who Liam was, and what he means to us. We love and miss him beyond words.”

Debbie Carroll, who leads on health and safety investigations for the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) said: “The death of Liam MacDonald could have been prevented if BAM Nuttall Limited had suitably and sufficiently assessed the risks involved in the maintenance and cleaning of the concrete column skip at the site.

“Their failure to identify the hazards represented by the skip’s bale arm and ensuring that it was secured prior to the cleaning operation beginning led to Mr MacDonald’s death.

“My thoughts are with his family and friends at this difficult time.”

— Accurate at time of publication | January 2025

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Department of Justice have announced a settlement agreement with Manitowoc Company, Inc., and two of its subsidiaries, Grove U.S. L.L.C., and Manitowoc Crane Group Germany GmbH (collectively, “Manitowoc”) for violations of the Clean Air Act’s mobile source emission standards regulations.

The settlement agreement requires Manitowoc to pay a civil penalty of $42.6 million and resolves allegations that the company imported and sold heavy non-road cranes with diesel engines that were not certified to meet applicable Clean Air Act emission standards, and violated related Clean Air Act regulatory requirements, which resulted in the release of excess carcinogenic diesel exhaust containing nitrogen oxides (NO_x) and particulate matter.

As part of the agreement, Manitowoc will undertake a project to mitigate harm from the alleged unlawful emissions by retrofitting a short-line locomotive currently in service in the Sparrows Point, Maryland, area. This area is near the Port of Baltimore where Manitowoc had imported cranes with the illegal engines. The pathway of the 70 miles of track includes areas with underserved and overburdened communities. Reducing NO_x and particulate matter emissions around the track will improve surrounding air quality.

Retrofitting of the locomotive includes removing, destroying, and replacing the locomotive’s old engine, which was manufactured before locomotive emission standards were in place, with a new engine equipped with present-day emission controls.

The complaint alleges that between 2014 and 2018, Manitowoc imported or introduced into U.S. commerce and sold non-road cranes with at least 1,032 diesel engines that were not covered by EPA-issued certificates of conformity. Many of the engines also did not qualify for a limited exemption. Manitowoc also failed to comply with Clean Air Act labeling, bonding, and reporting requirements.

The proposed consent decree, lodged in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, is subject to a 30-day public comment period and final court approval.

Accurate at time of publication | January 2025

Recent legislative changes across Canada are raising the bar for workplace harassment and violence prevention, calling for immediate action from employers.

Speaking at the OHS Law Masterclass, labor and employment lawyer Justine Abtosway highlighted key updates and their implications for safety professionals.

Key changes by province include:

• Quebec – Bill 42 requires employers to implement detailed psychological harassment prevention policies, addressing risks, confidentiality, and training. Employers in Quebec have an expanded obligation to stop harassment from any source, including clients and third parties.
• Saskatchewan – Bill 91 mandates workplace violence prevention policies and post-incident counseling. Employers must now identify risks, provide training, and document all incidents.
• Nova Scotia – Bill 464 broadens workplace safety to include psychological health. All employers must have harassment prevention policies by September 2025.
• Ontario – Bill 190 expands harassment definitions to include virtual interactions, like those occurring via email or social media.

Safety professionals are advised that they should act now to:

• Revise policies – ensure harassment policies include digital interactions and telework.
• Train employees – equip staff with tools to recognise and respond to harassment.
• Investigate diligently – employers have a duty to investigate incidents, even without formal complaints.

Canadian Occupational Safety
Accurate at time of publication | January 2025

The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri has entered an order requiring Ameren Missouri to spend $61 million on projects intended to mitigate violations of the federal Clean Air Act (CAA), including 14 years of unpermitted excess emissions of sulfur dioxide (SO₂). This order resolves years-long litigation between the parties.

Under the terms of the order, which were jointly proposed by Ameren, the Sierra Club, and the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) on behalf of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the electric utility will spend $25 million to provide vouchers for approximately 125,000 predominantly low-income, eastern Missouri households to purchase high efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filters designed to improve household air quality.

The remaining $36 million will be spent on helping St. Louis school districts switch to zero-emission, all-electric school buses. In the event that certain benchmarks are not met when implementing the filter and electric school bus projects, Ameren will implement a third project funding weatherisation and energy efficiency upgrades in the St. Louis metro area.

EPA alleged that Ameren, the largest coal-fired power producer in Missouri, operated in violation of the CAA for years when it failed to install air emission controls at its Rush Island power plant, southeast of Festus, Missouri. In 2011, DOJ filed a complaint against Ameren in the Eastern District of Missouri. In 2017, the Court ruled in favor of the United States, finding that Ameren had violated the CAA.

In 2019, the Court ordered Ameren to come into compliance with the CAA at the Rush Island plant by installing controls to lower SO₂ emissions and to mitigate its years of illegal pollution by installing emissions controls at another Ameren plant in nearby Labadie, Missouri.

On appeal, the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the order to install controls at the Rush Island plant but remanded the decision regarding mitigation at Labadie to the District Court. However, instead of installing the controls at Rush Island, Ameren announced it would shutter the plant and did so by court order in October 2024.

This agreement represents the resolution of the case on remand from the 8th Circuit and addresses the outstanding mitigation owed by Ameren to the public from its CAA violations and 14 years of illegal excess emissions from the Rush Island plant.

Chemical products manufacturer AB Specialty Silicones LLC will pay $1.3 million in penalties after an explosion and fire at its Waukegan plant in May 2019 claimed the lives of four workers.

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) reached a settlement agreement with the company after an investigation revealed AB Specialty Silicones failed to ensure electrical equipment complied with OSHA standards.

The company also used propane-powered forklifts to transport flammable liquids in areas where employees handled flammable liquids and gases.

As part of the agreement, the company has temporarily ceased production and use of silicon-hydride emulsions at all facilities until a new process area for production is designed by an engineering firm.

The Administrative Law Judge overseeing the case before the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission accepted the parties’ notification of settlement and terminated proceedings.

As part of the agreement, AB Specialty Silicones agreed to do the following:

• Develop a company-wide safety and health management system, implement an emergency action plan, and conduct evacuation drills.
• Provide safety training to employees and offer it in all languages understood by employees.
• Require specialty training for management on handling flammable materials.
• Purchase industrial trucks properly rated for handling flammable materials for all facilities.
• Perform comprehensive audits of its occupational health and safety management system certification and maintain at all facilities.
• Hire third-party consultants to assist with the analysis of electrical classification and hazards for any future or rebuilt facilities and audit those facilities six months after the start of operations.
• Allow OSHA to periodically inspect facilities without requiring a warrant.

AB Specialty Silicones will pay the penalty in 12 quarterly installments through 1 September 2027. If a payment is missed, the entire penalty becomes due immediately.

This is valid as of the 14th October 2024.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Department of Justice have announced a more than $16 million settlement with Ovintiv USA Inc. resolving Clean Air Act violations at the company’s oil and gas production facilities on the Uintah and Ouray Reservation in Utah and Utah state lands.

The settlement requires Ovintiv to pay the United States and the state of Utah a civil penalty of $5.5 million.

It also requires Ovintiv to implement extensive compliance measures to achieve major reductions in pollutants emitted from 139 of its facilities across the state.

The settlement resolves a civil suit, filed jointly by the United States and the state of Utah, alleging that Ovintiv failed to comply with federal and state requirements to capture and control air emissions and comply with inspection, monitoring, and recordkeeping requirements from 22 of its oil and gas production facilities in the Uinta Basin.

These violations resulted in illegal emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), which contribute to asthma and increase susceptibility to respiratory illnesses. Additionally, greenhouse gases, including methane, were released in large quantities, contributing to climate change.

Along with the civil penalty, the settlement requires Ovintiv to take corrective action and mitigation projects estimated to cost over $10 million at 139 of its facilities that will eliminate over 2,000 tonnes of VOC emissions annually. It will also eliminate methane emissions equivalent to a reduction of over 50,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions annually, a reduction similar to taking nearly 13,000 gas powered cars off the road each year.

The settlement requires Ovintiv to invest in extensive compliance measures for the proper design of Ovintiv’s oil and gas facilities to capture all VOC emissions and send the emissions to an appropriate control device. Compliance measures also include periodic infrared camera inspections, enhanced maintenance requirements, and installation of storage tank pressure monitors at many facilities.

The settlement is part of EPA’s National Enforcement and Compliance Initiative, Mitigating Climate Change. This initiative focuses, in part, on reducing methane emissions from oil and gas and landfill sources. Like all of EPA’s national enforcement initiatives, this initiative prioritises communities already overburdened by pollution and other potential environmental justice concerns.

The complaint and proposed consent decree were filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Utah. The consent decree is subject to a 30-day comment period.

This is valid as of the 7th October 2024.