Thursday 4th March 2021

Crane hire company charged over serious crush injury. 

A Darwin mobile crane hire company has been charged by NT WorkSafe over an incident where two workers were injured.

In February 2019, the crane company was hired to transport and position an electrical switchboard into a newly constructed switchboard room at the Palmerston Police Station, Western Australia.

The switchboard was lifted onto four load skates by a mobile crane. Three workers then attempted to manually manoeuvre the switchboard over a cable pit. During the manoeuvre, the 1.8-tonne switchboard fell backwards, pinning two of the workers.

One of the workers received moderate soft tissue injuries. While the other suffered severe head injuries and needed to be rescued by emergency services personnel.

Investigations by NT WorkSafe found the mobile crane company did not have a safe system of work in place despite the high-risk nature of the activity.

Full media release found on NT WorkSafe website

Illegal asbestos dumper fined $20,000. 

A company and its director have been charged and fined $10,000 each for illegally dumping asbestos and other construction waste.

An investigation began after a member of the public reported seeing nearly a tonne of asbestos and other demolition waste in a pine plantation in Everton Upper in September 2018.

EPA Manager, Major Investigations, Dallas Clowes. said ‘The company had obtained the waste during demolition work, and the Director admitted to transporting it there for storage and sorting to save money,’

In January 2019, EPA Victoria issued the company with a Clean Up Notice, which they did not comply with.

Wangaratta Magistrates Court fined the company and its director for the illegal dumping of industrial waste.

Read the full media release on the EPA Victoria website