{"id":527259,"date":"2025-08-20T08:00:04","date_gmt":"2025-08-20T07:00:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.constructionnews.co.uk\/?p=527259"},"modified":"2025-08-19T17:00:00","modified_gmt":"2025-08-19T16:00:00","slug":"bouygues-and-laing-orourke-to-be-prosecuted-over-hinkley-incident","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.constructionnews.co.uk\/health-and-safety\/bouygues-and-laing-orourke-to-be-prosecuted-over-hinkley-incident-20-08-2025\/","title":{"rendered":"Bouygues and Laing O\u2019Rourke to be prosecuted over Hinkley incident"},"content":{"rendered":"

Two companies are to be prosecuted after a worker was injured following an incident involving a rebar mesh wall at the Hinkley Point C construction site.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR), the UK\u2019s independent nuclear regulator, has given notice to<\/span> Bouygues<\/span><\/a> Travaux Publics SAS and<\/span> Laing O\u2019Rourke<\/span><\/a> Delivery Limited that they will be prosecuted under Section 33(1)(c) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974.<\/span><\/p>\n

The decision to begin legal proceedings followed an investigation by the ONR.<\/span><\/p>\n

The charges relate to an incident that occurred on 20 August 2022 in a prefabrication yard at the<\/span> Hinkley Point C<\/span><\/a> nuclear power station construction site, near Bridgwater, Somerset.<\/span><\/p>\n

An employee sustained serious injuries when a wall of rebar mesh fell upon him as he was working to remove the mesh from a vertical jig to be transferred to another part of the site, the watchdog said.<\/span><\/p>\n

According to the ONR, the incident was a conventional health and safety matter and there was no radiological risk to the public. <\/span><\/p>\n

Bouygues Travaux Publics SAS and Laing O\u2019Rourke Delivery each face a single charge of failing to plan, manage and monitor construction work without risks to health and safety.<\/span><\/p>\n

The two contractors are partners in the Bylor joint venture, delivering the main civil engineering works at Hinkley.<\/span><\/p>\n

The location and date of the first court hearing will be announced in due course, the ONR said.<\/span><\/p>\n

In a statement, Bylor said: \u201cWe have been informed by the Office for Nuclear Regulation of its intention to bring a prosecution in relation to an incident that occurred on the Hinkley Point C site on 20 August 2022.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe await the detailed findings and the specific legal basis for the proposed action, which we understand will be communicated separately. We continue to cooperate fully with the regulator.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Hinkley has been contacted for comment. <\/span><\/p>\n

Hinkley Point C is the only nuclear power plant currently under construction in the UK.<\/span><\/p>\n

In 2015, the project was expected to cost about \u00a318bn and be operational within a decade. By 2024, EDF, which runs the site, estimated it could<\/span> cost up to \u00a346bn, with construction work potentially continuing into the 2030s<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Two companies are to be prosecuted after a worker was injured following an incident involving a rebar mesh wall at the Hinkley Point C construction site. The Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR), the UK\u2019s independent nuclear regulator, has given notice to Bouygues Travaux Publics SAS and Laing O\u2019Rourke Delivery Limited that they will be prosecuted …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":155153,"featured_media":527280,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ep_exclude_from_search":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[530,581,537,578],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-527259","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bouygues","category-health-and-safety","category-laing-orourke","category-legal"],"yoast_head":"\nBouygues and Laing O\u2019Rourke to be prosecuted over Hinkley incident | Construction News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Two companies are to be prosecuted after a worker was injured following an incident involving a rebar mesh wall at the Hinkley Point C construction site.\" \/>\n<meta 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