WorkSafe issues warning to employers regarding health and safety measures

Employers are urged to be vigilant in following workplace health and safety regulations after a company was fined $30,000 for failing to protect workers in high-risk jobs.

Fire assay company Jinning has been fined a total of $30,000 and ordered to pay $5,647 in costs after four workers recorded high levels of lead in their blood and one was hospitalised.

The company pleaded guilty in Kalgoorlie Magistrates Court last week to two charges of failing to ensure that biological monitoring was conducted on an employee in a lead-risk job, along with two charges of failing to ensure that counselling and health surveillance were provided to workers in a lead-risk job.

“Jinning has two locations – West Kalgoorlie and Maddington – at which fire assay work is conducted, including determining the precious metal content of core samples using lead flux. These charges relate to the West Kalgoorlie premises,” a statement from WorkSafe explained.

“In April 2022, a worker at Jinning became ill, and his blood lead levels were measured at 97.5 micrograms per decilitre. The Regulations require that a worker must be removed from a lead-risk job if their lead level is at or above 30 micrograms per decilitre.

“Workers in lead-risk jobs must be provided with monitoring of their lead levels to ensure they stay at or below the 30 micrograms limit. The worker with the highest lead level was admitted to hospital where he was required to undergo treatment (chelation therapy) to reduce his lead levels and, as a result, WorkSafe conducted an investigation at the workplace.”

Commenting further, WorkSafe deputy commissioner Sally North said the case was the first time WorkSafe had prosecuted a company for failing in its duties with regard to providing health surveillance for workers with lead exposure.

“This is the first time WorkSafe has taken prosecution action against an employer over failing to provide health surveillance for a worker in a lead-risk job,” Ms North said.

“Lead poisoning can lead to serious complications such as high blood pressure and brain, kidney and reproductive health issues.

“Employers must provide health surveillance to workers in lead-risk jobs to ensure their health is not adversely affected, including testing blood samples to confirm that their absorbed dose of lead is below the specified removal level.

“But Jinning did not provide these four workers at their Kalgoorlie location with the required biological monitoring despite the fact that medical practices specialising in occupational health were available in Kalgoorlie that could have provided the required counselling and health surveillance.

“After the workers’ high lead levels were discovered, they were all removed from lead-risk roles.”

Ms North said the matter is a warning to other workplaces in navigating workplace health and safety legislation.

“This case should serve as a warning to other workplaces involved in fire assay or any other lead-related activity that their workers’ lead levels must be carefully monitored and action taken if they approach removal level – otherwise, the employer risks prosecution,” she said.