A Broadmeadows cardboard company has pleaded guilty in the local Magistrates’ Court this week to failing to provide safe plant and failing to ensure that the presence and location of asbestos were clearly indicated.
The charges related to an incident in January 2020 when a worker sustained a serious injury while operating a piece of machinery used to glue cardboard together. The worker’s hand was caught in a pulley belt rotating at high speed after tripping on hoses lying on the ground and subsequently fell forward into the machine.
Following the incident, a WorkSafe inspector attended the site and issued a prohibition notice relating to access to the dangerous areas of the machine, in addition to a number of improvement notices for other risks associated with the machine.
When inspectors followed up on the improvement notices in March of the same year, they were advised that insulating blocks used to shield the heat from the machine contained asbestos. Subsequent tests confirmed the blocks contained chrysotile asbestos.
The court heard that it was reasonably practicable for the company to reduce the risks by installing guarding that prevented access to the machine’s moving parts, but the company had a duty to label the insulation blocks as asbestos-containing.
WorkSafe Director of Health and Safety Narelle Beer said there was “simply no excuse for leaving workers exposed to the risk from unsafe machinery.”
“Employers must ensure any machine used in their workplace is fitted with adequate guarding and that any attachments are made from appropriate materials,” Dr Beer said.
“WorkSafe will not hesitate to prosecute companies that put their workers at risk every day.”
The company was fined $20,000 for each charge, without conviction, with a further $4,319 required to pay in costs.