"Nobody was found to have fallen ill during the period regulations were breached." This worries me. How do they know that no-one has suffered damage to health that will only become apparent at some time in the future? Styrene is also an ototoxin and, as such, can permanently damage hearing. Did they monitor hearing loss? This is often the problem with damage to health due to workplace exposure to chemicals. The consequences of exposure today may not be apparent for some time. As a result management is often reluctant to introduce controls and they are not convinced that they are needed. Not only that, but the damage can sometimes be a combination of occupational and non-occupational exposures. Chris

From the referenced article: "a judge agreed to reduce the fine after their guilty plea and gave them three years to pay the cash, saying it was the “kind of enterprise the country needs” to recover from recession." Whether the statement is accurate or not, it is very worrying and surely an ill-advised thing for a judge to utter. This may be indicative of the 'race to the bottom' and the shape of things to come for workplace safety post UK EU exit.

I quite agree. I see little point in the HSE issuing notices if they're not going to follow them up to check they are being complied with, or it becomes a tick box exercise that doesn't actually improve anything. As the saying goes - don't shake the tree if you can't catch the coconuts.

This seems to be a miscarriage of justice; the judge would appear to have little knowledge of H&S law or the court sentencing guidelines. If I was HSE I would appeal, John

Could have been a a good earner for the HSE under FFI! Seriously though, I wonder why the HSE did not issue an IN and escalate the actions for non compliance.