A community housing association (HA) has been prosecuted for exposing its workers to Hand Arm Vibration Syndrome (HAVS) over a five year period.

Tai Calon Community Housing of The Rising Sun Industrial Estate, Blaina, has been fined £30,000 with over £2,789 in costs after being found guilty of breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work, etc Act 1974.

Newport Magistrates' Court heard how employees of Tai Calon were routinely exposed vibration in their day to day work between July 2010 and May 2015.

After the company introduced health surveillance in May 2015, a number of employees were diagnosed with HAVS, which has side effects such as pain and loss of strength in the hands and has been known to cause distress and sleep disturbance.

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A Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigation found the Association had failed to adequately assess the risk to employees from the use of vibratory tools, failed to implement adequate measures to reduce employees' exposure to vibration, failed to place employees under suitable health surveillance and failed to provide employees with suitable information, instruction, and training.

Speaking after the hearing, HSE inspector Paul Newton said: "No one's health should not be made worse by the work they do. In this case, if Tai Calon had understood why health surveillance was necessary, it would have ensured that it had the right systems in place to monitor its workers' health.

"This prosecution highlights the health risks from using vibratory tools and the importance of employers having a health surveillance programme in place. Where vibratory tools are used, employers should monitor the health of employees using them and ensure appropriate systems are in place to manage and control the risk from vibration."

(LM/MH)