Company in court again after dangerous quarry blast

WCD Sleeman & Sons fined £30,000 for serious control failings during blast at Moons Hill Quarry

WCD Sleeman & Sons Ltd have been fined £30,000 after a quarry blast sent rocks weighing up to 15kg flying outside a danger zone toward employees and across a public road.

Falling rocks narrowly avoided hitting workers as they landed well outside the designated blast zone at Moons Hill Quarry, Stoke St Michael, near Shepton Mallet, on 7 February 2012. Rocks also fell on to a public highway, exposing road users to unacceptable danger.

The Frome-based firm which organized the blast was prosecuted last week after an investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) identified serious control failings.

Bristol Crown Court heard that workers acting as sentries outside the danger area were aware of rocks flying above their heads and landing all around them immediately after the blast. Rocks also landed in the processing plant area of the quarry, which is on the other side of a public road.

HSE inspectors discovered that the blast had not been properly planned. Too much explosive was used in an area where the ground was already broken and measures put in place to reduce risks were inadequate.

WCD Sleeman & Sons Ltd were fined £30,000 and ordered to pay £20,000 in costs after pleading guilty to breaching Section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974.

The court was told the firm was prosecuted in July 2013 after the HSE investigated a similar offence in Devon when Sleeman were fined £20,000 with £17,000 costs at Barnstaple Magistrates’ Court.

Speaking after the hearing, HSE Inspector Cath Pickett said: ‘This was a very serious incident which put both members of the public and employees at serious risk of being hit by rocks, and could easily have led to death or serious injury.

‘This is not the first time WCD Sleeman & Sons have been prosecuted for similar offences that have put people at considerable risk and I hope they take more heed of the lessons to be learned.

‘Proper planning and control is required at all times in the quarrying industry. The option of stopping and re-evaluating the blasting operation for safety is always available to shotfirers, and in this case would have avoided danger.’