Near £1million fine for Mossmorran contractor after worker seriously injured by falling pipework
A contractor at Mossmoran has been fined almost £1million after a nightshift worker was seriously injured after being hit by a piece of pipework.
The incident happened during the refurbishment of a furnace at the complex in Fife in 2022.
A large piece of pipework fell to the ground striking a nightshift worker. The 47-year-old rigger suffered three fractures to his skull, a broken shoulder and head cuts, and was off work for 15 months.
The contractor carrying out the project, Altrad Babcock – which was known at the time as Doosan Babcock -has been fined £967,500 for health and safety failings at Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court.
With its registered office in Warrington, the company admitted that on July 21-22, 2022 at Fife Ethylene Plant, Mossmorran, it failed to ensure the health, safety and welfare at work of its employees.
In the course of the cutting and removal of metal pipework it failed to make a suitable and sufficient risk assessment and failed to provide a safe system of work, whereby a metal coil fell and struck an employee, working at ground level, on the head and body to his severe injury.
The incident occurred when one of the plant’s furnaces had been decommissioned for a refurbishment to be carried out by Babcock. The injured man, Darren Spagnoletta, had worked for Babcock for 24 years.
He had previous experience of working on jobs at Mossmorran and had returned there as part of a Babcock team for the refurbishment of the furnace. This involved removing and replacing all the existing pipework within the furnace. The project involved the cutting and rigging of pipework at height by workers on scaffolding.
A sling should have been attached to the pipework before it was cut to prevent it falling to the ground.
The accident occurred during the nightshift involving a cut section around eight metres in length and weighing about 130kg. Pipefitters on the uppermost level of the scaffolding cut away the section which had not been slung. It fell to the ground, bounced and struck Mr Spagnoletta.
He sustained three skull fractures, a broken bone in his shoulder, a cut on his forehead requiring fifteen stitches and a cut to the back of his head which required six staples. He was absent from work for the next 15 months, eventually returning part-time on light duties before ending his employment with the company in March.
Sheriff Robert More said the firm’s culpability was “high”. He imposed a fine of £967,500.