South Yorkshire crushing plant operator fined £240,000

A South Yorkshire crushing plant operator has been fined£240,000 and ordered to pay £22,7941 costs after worker lost his left arm when it was dragged into exposed machinery.  An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive found that workers on the crushing plant were required to clean down the machinery after each batch to ensure the titanium product was not contaminated; this placed them immediately next to unguarded belt and flywheels. Although the company had enclosed all the machinery with a fence including an interlocked gate, which ensured that the machinery was not powered when the gate was open, the belt and the flywheel could still move with considerable power if it was caught or nudged.