Mark Anton Arabaje, the former Director of the now-dissolved tyre recycling business Cartwright Projects Ltd, has been given a four months prison sentence (suspended for 12 months) for safety failings that led to an employee losing his forearm.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) prosecuted Arabaje after it was found that he removed a protective guard from a tyre-shredding machine (such as that pictured) at the company’s premises in Westwell, Kent.

Canterbury Crown Court heard last week (17 July) that Nathan Johnson, 25, was shredding tyres at the company’s premises on 27 November 2013, when the machine failed to grip one properly. Johnson then fed the remaining tyre into the shredder by hand, at which point his right jacket sleeve became caught in the metal teeth of the shredder, dragging his arm into the machine.

He was freed by Arabaje after screaming for help. However, he lost his forearm up to his elbow and required extensive emergency hospital treatment, including skin grafts from his leg to replace the remains of his arm. A bolt was also placed in his elbow to make sure it remained intact.

According to the prosecution, Arabaje was culpable for the incident, as he had removed the metal bucket guard of the shredding machine earlier in the month, exposing the tyre shredder’s metal teeth.

The court also heard that Johnson’s injuries would have been more severe had he been working alone that day, which was said to be a regular occurrence at the company, as there was no emergency-stop switch within reach.

In a statement to the court, Johnson, said: “[The injury] has knocked me back regarding my mobility and it is a struggle getting around. It has had a massive impact on my home life with my four children. I still suffer pain with the injuries.”

Arabaje pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing to an offence under the Health and Safety at Work Act of 1974.

Last week, Canterbury Crown Court handed him a four-month prison sentence, suspended for 12 months, and placed him under home curfew between the hours of 8pm and 6am (monitored via electronic tag). Arabaje was also ordered to pay Johnson a £5000 compensation order for injuries sustained.

‘Company directors need to take their health and safety responsibilities seriously’

Following the hearing, HSE Inspector Guy Widdowson said: “Nathan Johnson would never have suffered these horrific, life-changing injuries if Mr. Arabaje, the company director, had not removed the guard from the tyre-shredder.

“Company directors need to take their health and safety responsibilities seriously to prevent such tragic events occurring in the future. They have a significant role to play in protecting workers from injury at work; and this case demonstrates that such incidents can and do lead to directors being prosecuted if there is evidence of their consent, connivance or neglect to breaches in the law.”

Deaths in waste and resources industry up 120 per cent

The waste and resources industry is, according to the HSE, ‘one of Britain’s most dangerous sectors’. A report released by the HSE earlier this month revealed that 11 people, including six members of the public, were fatally injured in the waste and resources sector in 2014/15, a 120 per cent increase on the previous year’s figures.

To try and improve the safety of the industry, HSE published the ‘Waste Industry Safety and Health (WISH) blueprint 2012-15’, a guide for employers to follow in order to provide clearer training and safer workplaces.

Measures includes in the blueprint include:

• producing agreed safety leadership standards for the waste management industry and guidance on ‘what safety leadership looks like and how it is demonstrated’;
• developing sharable training materials for promoting and enhancing worker engagement;
• publishing case studies and real life examples of ‘the positive impact of improved workforce competence, including examples of industry best practice and the potential business benefits’; and
• developing guidance and support on health surveillance (monitoring/screening).

Read HSE’s provisional ‘Statistics on fatal injuries in the workplace in Great Britain 2015’ or its ‘Waste Industry Safety and Health (WISH) blueprint 2012-15’.