§ Mr. Tony LloydTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will list the dates when representatives of the Health and Safety Executive visited the Channel tunnel construction site to assess safety levels and the outcome of the visits.
§ Mr. NichollsInformation on the total number of visits made by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) to assess health and safety levels at the Channel tunnel construction sites and the outcome is not readily available and can only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
Information which is available shows that between July and December 1989 inspectors based in HSE's South East area local office at Ashford, Kent made 86 visits to the Channel tunnel construction sites. Frequent visits have also been made by specialist inspectors from the technology division.
§ Mr. Tony LloydTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will list the industrial accidents notified to the Health and Safety Executive that have occurred 385W during work on the Channel tunnel, giving dates, details of accidents and the outcome of any action taken by the Health and Safety Executive.
§ Mr. NichollsThe information as requested is not readily available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. However, between March 1987 and December 1989, the latest date for which information is available, a provisional total of 327 accidents which occurred during work on the Channel tunnel were reported to the Health and Safety Executive. Action taken by the executive following accidents is appropriate to the particular circumstances of the incident.
§ Mr. Tony LloydTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will list the prosecutions by the Health and Safety Executive of the British consortium, contractors and sub-contractors building the Channel tunnel giving dates, details of the cause of accidents and where appropriate the nature of the serious injury or cause of death.
§ Mr. NichollsThe Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has prosecuted the five constituent companies of Translink JV on two occasions. The prosecutions followed investigations by HSE into two incidents which were notified under the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations, neither of which resulted in injuries.
The first incident occurred on 2 December 1987 when four 8-ton railway wagons ran 300 metres down an adit into the tunnel workings. The second incident occurred underground on 5 April 1988 when a cylinder of LPG was hit and punctured by a train.