Cleaning firm must pay £150,000 after site death

AN INDUSTRIAL cleaning firm has been ordered to pay out £155,000 after a Scot drowned when he fell into a water-filled pit at a power station.

Michael Benn, 37, from Glenrothes, Fife was one of a team of three working to remove sludge and debris from part of a cooling tower at Connah’s Quay Power Station in Flintshire, North Wales.

Mold Crown Court heard Mr Benn was working in poorly lit conditions inside the cooling tower, and had entered an enclosed culvert to check the depth of water in a sump.

Colleagues working nearby heard distressed shouts, but when they reached the sump, he had disappeared from view.

Judge Niclas Parry criticised Epsco Ltd of Arran Road, Perth, after hearing there was no barrier or warning signs to alert workers to the danger on the site.

The judge fined Epsco £35,000 and ordered them to pay costs of £120,000 after admitting a charge under Section 2 (1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 on 27 August 2007.

Widow Lynne Benn, 45, has urged other firms involved in similar work to do everything possible to protect their staff.

She said: “Other companies working to these processes need to look at them, because we are talking about lives.”

David Morgan, prosecuting, said Epsco had failed to properly assess the hazards.

He said: “A very simple physical barrier could have saved Mr Benn’s life. There were two obvious risks – working near water and working at a height.

“The company knew the hazards, but failed to address them. ”