AWE Aldermaston fined £1m
AWE admits breaching health and safety rules after worker burned his arm
THE Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE) has been fined £1m after admitting health and safety breaches.
An employee suffered burns to his arm while conducting routine testing at AWE Aldermaston in June 2017.
The incident was a conventional health and safety matter and there was no radiological risk to workers or the public.
AWE was also ordered to pay costs of £26,096.88 during a sentencing hearing at Reading Magistrates Court.
The prosecution was the result of an investigation into the incident by the Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR), the UK’s independent nuclear safety regulator.
AWE had pleaded guilty to the offences at Reading Magistrates Court in September.
The ONR’s deputy chief inspector and director of operating facilities regulation, Donald Urquhart, said: “We welcome the outcome, which recognises that AWE fell short in its duty to protect a worker.
“This related to a conventional safety hazard and should have been avoided – and indeed would have been – had the right procedures and processes for safety been in place.
“Fortunately, in this case the individual involved was not seriously harmed, but easily could have been.
“ONR as an independent regulator needs to hold dutyholders to account on behalf of workers and the public and that is what we’ve done in this instance.
“I’m pleased to say that AWE has shown commitment to make substantial improvements on its side as regards electrical safety.
“I have a team that inspects the site and they will monitor progress towards achieving the standards we expect.”
AWE was fined following a guilty plea to offences under Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act (1974).
The establishment, which manufactures and maintains the UK’s nuclear deterrent Trident, said it deeply regretted that the incident had occurred.
AWE said that a robust internal investigation was carried out into the incident and the findings were shared with the ONR.
A full review of electrical safety processes and systems across the AWE sites was carried out and action taken to minimise the risk of recurrence.
Chief operating officer Haydn Clulow said: “We always take our health and safety responsibilities extremely seriously and have co-operated fully with the ONR throughout the course of this investigation.
“AWE continues to operate safely and remains committed to achieving the highest standards in safety performance, working collaboratively with our regulators, contractors and partners.”
