Mine Operator Fined After Inadequately Guarded Fan Fatality

Brief Summary

The Health and Safety Executive found serious failings in how a mine fan was modified, commissioned, and maintained at an underground quartz sand mine, including inadequate risk assessment, missing commissioning records, poor guard design, and lack of effective maintenance and inspection. The employer pleaded guilty and was fined for breaching duties under the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974.

What Was The Incident?

An experienced electrician attended for a day shift to restore power following damage linked to Storm Ashleigh. During the work, he and an apprentice were disconnecting a communications cable near one of the mine's BORA fans. He was later found trapped in the fan and sustained fatal injuries.

What Was The Outcome?

The employer pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2(1) and Section 33(1)(a) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974. The court fined the company £150,000 and ordered a victim surcharge of £11,250.

Key Points To Consider

Modification must include a documented risk assessment. Where equipment is modified, risks from the change must be properly identified and controlled, and the employer must be able to show this through written risk assessment and related management discussion.

Commissioning records are essential for safe equipment operation. Splitting a unit into separate fans was not supported by commissioning documents, making it difficult to demonstrate that safe operation requirements had been checked before use.

Guards must be suitable, correctly fitted, and compliant from the start. The fan blades were found to be significantly closer to the intake guard than safe, and fabricated guarding was poorly designed, with parts of the fan remaining unguarded.

Maintenance and inspection must detect guard deterioration. The inlet guard was found in a seriously degraded condition with missing mesh and evidence of long term corrosion, yet this had not been identified because there was no proper maintenance regime and the electrical inspections did not pick up the deterioration.

Mechanical assets must be tracked and checked properly. The fans involved had not been listed on the Mechanical Asset Register, and inspection checklists and maintenance records were not available, preventing structured checks and effective assurance of safety critical components.

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