The Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR) has notified two companies that they will be prosecuted under Section 33(1)(c) of the Health and Safety At Work Etc. Act 1974.
The charges relate to an incident which occurred on 20 August, 2022 in a pre-fabrication yard at the Hinkley Point C (HPC) nuclear construction site near Bridgwater in Somerset.
An employee sustained serious injuries when a wall of rebar mesh fell upon him as he was working to remove the wall from a vertical jig to be transferred to another part of the site.
The incident was a conventional health and safety matter and there was no radiological risk to the public.
Bouygues Travaux Publics SAS and Laing O’Rourke Delivery Limited each face a single charge of failing to plan, manage and monitor construction work without risks to health and safety.
The two contractors are the joint venture partners in BYLOR JV, delivering the main civil engineering works at HPC.
The decision to begin legal proceedings follows an investigation by ONR, the UK’s independent nuclear regulator.
Details about the location and date of the first court hearing, will be announced once these are finalised.
Given that matters are now subject to legal proceedings, we are unable to comment further at this time.