Wind farm worker dies after fall inside turbine at Earlsburn

What happened

A 19-year-old worker died after falling about 100ft down the shaft of a wind turbine at the Earlsburn wind farm near Fintry, Stirlingshire. He had been working inside the turbine with three other employees and fell while the group was descending a ladder later in the day. The reason for the fall was not established. The turbine manufacturer Nordex UK was later fined £26,000 at Stirling Sheriff Court after admitting breaches of health and safety law at the site between November 2006 and May 2007. The court accepted there was no link between those offences and the death. The Earlsburn wind farm was under construction at the time.

Contributing factors

The court heard the firm was using a fall arrest system, although the Health and Safety Executive had warned it in the months before the death to upgrade to a lift system, and it had not done so. The firm also admitted failing to provide a safe way of getting up and down the wind turbines. The prosecution described a total failing to meet the regulations, but accepted there was no link between those failings and the death. The defence said the firm had been practically insolvent in the two previous financial years.

Lessons learned

1. Act promptly on regulator warnings about fall protection, and replace fall arrest systems with lift systems where advised.
2. Provide a safe, documented means of access up and down turbine towers for every worker, including during descent at the end of a shift.
3. Supervise and plan descents inside tower shafts, so that a fall or distress can be detected and reported immediately and rescue arrangements are in place.

More lessons on electrical protection and isolation, structural integrity and turbines, from every incident on the register.

Source

BBC News (bbc.com)