PHW

Home / Real cases / Samson Containers Ltd

PHW · Manufacturing · 2026-06-16

Samson Containers Ltd fined £30,000 after unprotected welding fume and noise exposure

Thornton-Cleveleys, Lancashire · Warrington Magistrates' Court

What happened

A company carried out mild steel welding without local exhaust ventilation, adequate welfare facilities or a noise risk assessment. It failed to implement controls or provide health surveillance for noise-exposed employees despite two HSE improvement notices.

Injuries: No specific injuries reported; workers were exposed to carcinogenic welding fumes and hearing damage risk

The breach

Section 33(1)(g) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 (failure to comply with Improvement Notices); Regulation 9(1) of the Control of Noise at Work Regulations 2005

The sentence

  • Fine: £30,000
  • Costs: £4,571
HSE inspector

“This was a company that put its workers at risk of serious, long-term health conditions because it repeatedly failed to get the basics right.”

What would have prevented it

An improvement notice is not optional; failing to act on it after a set deadline is itself a prosecutable offence.

How PHW helps

The machines, packs and quizzes that fit this kind of site.

Sector

Training and evidence for manufacturing sites

View →
Quiz

Could a visitor on your shop floor check an operator's training record in under a minute?

View →

Source: HSE press release, Skip manufacturer fined £30,000 after failing to protect workers from carcinogenic fumes