Drax faces lawsuits over claims workers developed asthma from wood dust | Drax

Ten lawsuits have been filed against him Drax Once a diagnosis of asthma thought to be related to wood pellet fuel has been made, this may be identified.

Current and former workers at Britain's largest power station claim they were not adequately protected from long-term exposure to wood dust, which can cause serious health problems including asthma, dermatitis and nasal cancer.

Six compensation claims have been settled out of court and four are scheduled for trial in 2026, according to an investigation by Overview of land and climate found it.

A class action lawsuit was also filed against the company this month. health problems in the United States, representing 700 people living near one of Drax's wood pellet plants in Mississippi. The company is also located investigated UK Financial Conduct Authority regarding “historical statements” made in relation to wood pellets.

The Drax power station was originally built to burn coal, but has switched entirely to biomass since 2023. funded by billions of pounds in subsidies from UK bill payers. The UK government is negotiating Drax's next biomass subsidy contract, which will run from 2027 to 2031.

Drax pellets are made by pressing wood dust under high pressure and then ground back into dust in mills. Yorkshire site before burning.

Neil Lindridge, a former machinist at Drax, described the dust as “so fine it can only be seen in sunlight.”

Martin Sweet, another former worker, said he and other workers at local plants were “told nothing” before Drax began testing biomass in the 2000s.

For five years after Sweet noticed “yellow spots mixed with charcoal,” he regularly suffered from colds, flu and respiratory tract infections. He then began having asthma attacks, sometimes immediately after arriving on site. He ended up being hospitalized twice, including a three-day stay for double pneumonia.

In 2015, when a specialist diagnosed him with industrial asthma, he says, “everything fell into place.”

Sweet says Drax's environmental and safety manager asked him, “Where do you think you were exposed to biomass?”

“Everywhere,” he replied.

Sweet was the first of 10 people to sue Drax over health problems diagnostically linked to the biomass. The lawsuits follow three notices of improvement filed by Health and the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) after investigators “found significant breaches of health and safety law” in 2016.

Drax pleaded not guilty to criminal charges in 2022 before the HSE dropped the charges in 2023. A HSE spokesman said “we carried out a lengthy and thorough investigation” but “new information emerged in late 2022” which meant there was “no longer a reasonable prospect of obtaining a conviction for the most serious offenses alleged.” At the time, the HSE said: “There is no evidence of an ongoing risk of harm from exposure to wood dust at Drax power station.”

While working at Drax, Lindridge developed such severe breathing problems that he could only sleep sitting in a chair. In addition to asthma, he suffered from rhinitis and nasal polyps, which had to be surgically removed.

Richard Foster, Unite's regional manager until 2024, said evidence could be missed because workers are hesitant to report health and safety issues. “Young guys with families and huge mortgages” are afraid of being blacklisted, he said.

James (not his real name), a contractor working on site, says stricter rules on PPE and cleaning are “not enough”. “Every [on site] comes into contact with biomass… it's on scaffolding, in containers, everywhere.”

Drax executives internally acknowledged that European mills using local wood chips have fewer problems with dust control, but Drax pellets are easier to ship across the Atlantic.

Drax's GMB spokesman Sean Clarkson was “shocked” to learn from our interview that biomass dust poses a cancer risk. He said: “I don't believe most workers are aware of these consequences.”

Company documents show Drax was aware of the health risks associated with wood dust during its processing into biomass for several years before the HSE intervened. In a 2011 email, a Drax employee informed 15 people of the results of a meeting about “the hazards and controls of working with wood dust.”

The employee said he found “relevant” information on the “HSE website” with a link to a page that described exposure risks such as cancer and lung damage.

A 2013 internal document acknowledges the risks of asthma and cancer, but says: “You can be confident that the controls put in place by Drax Power Limited will be effective in preventing health problems.”

An internal health and safety presentation from 2019 states: “Biomass pellets are not harmful to health.” By that time, medical specialists had diagnosed five Drax workers with industrial asthma related to exposure to biomass dust. The next slide is titled: “Frequently Asked Question? Is Biomass the New Asbestos?”

The asbestos comparison is also being drawn by union leaders who are concerned about a looming health crisis among hundreds of employees at the Drax plant. Unite is now keeping a register of members' whistleblowing as evidence for further legal action.

James said that “when asbestos was in factories, no one knew what it could kill. do Know that biomass is dangerous… but it takes time before people realize that there is something wrong with their body. The union registry is for people who develop symptoms in the future to prove that it happened.”

Labor MPs expressed concern about the findings. “Any employer who withholds information from employees is completely irresponsible,” said John Trickett, MP for Normanton and Hemsworth. “A Labor government must keep all relevant laws under review to protect workers and, where necessary, punish irresponsible bosses.”

“Workers' rights are an important part of the transition to clean energy,” said Polly Billington, MP for East Thanet. “Drax clearly has questions to answer.”

Witnesses in the HSE prosecution case, including former master mechanic Sean Crimmins, said the regulator “categorically” assured them in 2023 that “if any further matters arose, they would re-investigate.”

Since then, five lawsuits have been filed. “If the HSE were real, they should go back to it,” Crimmins said.

The HSE said the regulator had only received five official reports of cases of occupational asthma in Drax.

A Drax spokesman said: “The HSE ceased its action against Drax in 2023 and confirmed that there is no evidence of an ongoing risk of harm from exposure to wood dust. The health, safety and wellbeing of our colleagues is our top priority and we continually review and update our processes to ensure that everyone who works with us remains safe.”