A NORTHWICH furniture company has hit out at an 'unfair' £16,000 fine imposed for health and safety breaches.

Pineland Furniture Ltd's Witton Street branch was inspected by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) in December 2019 when 'significant' breaches of the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations (COSHH) were found.

This resulted in the business being served six improvement notices being served requiring Pineland to carry out statutory examinations of its wood dust extraction systems and undertake face fit testing for those employees required to wear tight fitting face masks.

But when the HSE inspectors returned in November 2021, identical breaches were found and further improvement notices were served.

The HSE prosecuted Pineland, which pleaded guilty to breaching COSHH regulations before being fined £16,000 and ordered to pay £3,008 costs at Chester Magistrates Court on October 11.

Pineland manager Richard Taylor said the breaches were the result of an oversight caused by pressures of dealing with the Covid pandemic.

He added: “We’re meant to get tests done every 14 months and during the pandemic we had an oversight because of the pressures of Covid.

"We had staff off, we had supply problems, we had containers of wood that didn’t come in. Everyone was doing everyone else’s job, we had lots of people working from home and our re-testing got overlooked.

"It was completely unfair for the HSE to penalise us when people have died in nursing homes through oversights during Covid.

“I feel as though we were unfairly treated. Infected people from hospitals were put into nursing homes and as a result loved ones died, is the HSE going to prosecute anybody for that which happened during Covid?

“To me it is a money-making venture and the HSE should really be there to help and encourage businesses to be safer practices rather than penalise them for things.

“In the event, our machines, our extraction systems, were all up to scratch, fortunately when they were re-tested. It was a no-crime crime."

A HSE spokesman said the inspections came as part of the executive's national campaign targeting woodworking businesses and the company was prosecuted due to the 'significant occupational health risks associated with wood dust and its continued failure to ensure control of exposure to it'.

After the hearing, HSE inspector Ian Betley said: "Wood dust is a substance hazardous to health because it can cause serious non-reversible health problems, including asthma; dermatitis; and irritation to the eyes, nose and throat.

"Occupational lung disease causes the death of 12,000 people in Great Britain annually, and there are an estimated 19,000 new cases of breathing and lung problems each year, where individuals regarded their condition as being caused or made worse by work.

"It is important to carry out statutory thorough examinations of extraction equipment and ensure face fit testing, as required by COSHH to help prevent ill health.

"We will not hesitate to take enforcement action when necessary to make sure workers’ health is protected."