Andrena Furniture Ltd, a dining and cabinet furniture manufacturer in Hertfordshire, pleaded guilty at Luton Magistrates’ Court on 2 May 2018 to breaching Regulations 7(1) and 9(2)(a) of the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002.

The company was fined £8,000 and ordered to pay costs of £1,081.40 after exposing employees to significant quantities of hardwood dust on a daily basis. This is a hazardous substance which can cause occupational asthma and nasal cancer.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) conducted an investigation and found that the company’s extraction system, which had been tested previously in 2016 and found to be inefficient, was partly the cause of such high levels of hardwood dust. The company had also failed to maintain standards following previous visits by the HSE despite receiving verbal and written advice from it.

The HSE noted that the company should have identified that its workshop contained significant quantities of hardwood dust and should have taken action to reduce exposure to its employees, such as ensuring that there was efficient extraction and that a robust cleaning regime was implemented.

The company had previously been served with an Improvement Notice in September 2013 after the HSE found that it did not have health surveillance arrangements for workers who were exposed to wood dust.

If you should have any questions about your legal obligations in relation to Health and Safety in the workplace and need a specialist health and safety solicitor, call James Lowe, our Regulatory and Licensing Partner on 07833 240 400 for advice and assistance.