A Norfolk woodworking company has been fined £25,000 for failing to control its employees’ exposure to wood dust.

A Health and Safety Executive (HSE) inspection of The Joinery Yard Limited at Sweet Briar Road industrial estate, Norwich in November 2019 identified failings in the company’s measures to prevent employees' exposure to wood dust. 

Wood dust is a respiratory irritant that can cause long-term health effects including asthma.

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An inspection in 2022 showed that the company had failed to make changes to health and safety practices.

They pleaded guilty to breaching the Health and Safety at Work Act A yesterday (October 4) at Norwich Magistrates' Court. 

They were fined £25,000 and ordered to pay costs of £2,681.77.

After the hearing, HSE inspector Natalie Prince said: "The fine should underline to everyone in the woodworking industry that the courts, and HSE, take a failure to follow the regulations extremely seriously."

Joinery Yard's website lists it primarily as a builders merchants but also as experts in making windows, doors and other products such as garden furniture, specialising in sash windows.