Lead contamination lands glass maker with £3,600 HSE fine
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A Midlands-based glass factory has been fined £3,600 after lead contamination at its premises.
Staffordshire Crystal, trading as Brierley Crystal, exposed staff to dangerous levels of the metal, according to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).
A routine inspection in October 2009 found workers eating in a factory with high levels of lead, Stourbridge and Halesowen Magistrates Court heard.
HSE inspectors said exposure to the metal was not being adequately controlled at the firm's Pedmore Road Industrial Estate site in Brierley Hill.
Employees lacked facilities to wash their hands or a rest area to have meals, the HSE found.
This increased the risk of exposure to lead contamination, the HSE added.
Staffordshire Crystal had not carried out suitable and sufficient risk assessments, the HSE said.
The firm pleaded guilty to beaching Regulation 5 of the Control of Lead Work Regulations 2002 and Regulation 25(2)(b) of the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 2002.
Staffordshire Crystal was also ordered to pay £7,000 costs.
HSE inspector, Jenny Skeldon, said: "Lead exposure is a recognised cause of occupational ill health and this requires adequate control measures to either prevent or control exposure. Good personal hygiene such as hand washing before eating and drinking is also very important in controlling exposure."
