Largest U.K. Coal Mine Owner Prosecuted for Violating Health and Safety Regulations
The HSE alleges that between October 1997 and January 1998, drivers at Maltby Mine were repeatedly instructed to drive battery-powered locomotives on occasions when levels of firedamp (a naturally occurring flammable mixture of gases, mainly methane) in the air exceeded the maximum 1.25% at which locomotives can legally be used. RJB Mining (UK) Ltd, of Harworth, Doncaster, faces four charges of not complying with the requirements of MASHAM Regulation 6(2)(b). According to HSE, the company failed to prove that the Maltby Mine was managed and worked in accordance with relevant statutory provisions by operating battery-powered locomotives contrary to the provisions of the Coal and Other Mines (Locomotives) Regulations 1956 and the Electricity at Work Regulations 1989.
The other five defendants are: Clive Ponder, the former mine manager; Patrick McHale, the former deputy manager; Martin Shimwell, a former undermanager/overman; and overmen Andrew Goodall and Richard Kearney. Ponder faces four charges of failing to manage and control the undertaking of the mine in accordance with the relevant statutory provisions. He also faces four charges of failing to ensure the discharge by others of obligations imposed on them by the relevant statutory provisions
McHale faces four charges of breaching MASHAM Regulation 10(4)(a) by failing to carry out his allocated duties with all due diligence. He faces four additional charges of breaching MASHAM Regulation 10(4)(a) in that, by not preventing the operation of locomotives in such circumstances, he did not ensure compliance with existing regulations.
Shimwell faces five charges of breaching MASHAM Regulation 10(4)(a), in that he failed to carry out his allocated duties with all due diligence. He also faces five charges of breaching MASHAM Regulation 10(4)(b) by failing to ensure, so far as was practicable, compliance with regulations.
Goodall faces three charges and Kearney four charges of breaching MASHAM Regulation 10(4)(a) for failing to carry out his allocated duties with all due diligence by permitting locomotives to be operated when the firedamp level exceeded 1.25%. They both face three charges of breaching MASHAM Regulation 10(4)(b) for not preventing the operation of locomotives in such circumstances.
The MASHAM Regulations, which came into force on Oct.1, 1993, apply to all mines and superseded certain provisions imposed by or under the Mines and Quarries Act 1954. They set out the requirements to be complied with, from a health and safety viewpoint to ensure effective management and administration of a mine. They take account of modern working practices in mines and, in the light of these, the need to ensure that all mines have an effective administrative and management structure, staffed by individuals who are aware of their duties for the safe operation of a mine and who are competent to carry out those duties.
The maximum penalty in the Magistrates' Court for contravention of the MASHAM Regulations is a fine of GBP5,000 per offense. It is open to magistrates to commit cases for trial or sentencing in the Crown Court, where fines are unlimited.