Prosecutions

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found the construction firm and its sub-contracted plant hire firm put workers and the public at risk by failing to properly manage the presence of asbestos during the refurbishment of a residential block of flats, between 24 November and 8 December 2009.

During the work in an occupied block of flats, asbestos insulation board was disturbed and removed by unlicensed contractor, the plant hire firm, potentially releasing the deadly substance into the air.

A previous survey, identifying the presence of asbestos insulation board in a number of the properties, had been provided to the construction firm, but had not been acted upon or passed to their sub-contractors.

The construction firm pleaded guilty and was fined £50,000 at the Old Bailey for breaching Regulation 22(1)(a) Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2007.

The plant hire firm pleaded guilty of breaching regulations 5, 8(1) and 11(a) of the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2006, and was fined £50,000. The companies were ordered to pay joint costs of £20,690.

A HSE Inspector commented on the case:

"Despite recent high profile campaigns on the dangers of working with asbestos, this case sadly illustrates some companies are still failing to manage the risks robustly.

"The construction firm had information that asbestos was present, yet neglected to act on it, meaning a licensable asbestos material was removed in an uncontrolled manner, needlessly risking the health of contractors and members of the public."

Asbestos-related diseases are responsible for around 4,000 deaths a year. Working on or near damaged asbestos-containing materials or breathing in high levels of asbestos fibres, which may be many hundreds of times that of environmental levels, could increase your chances of getting an asbestos-related disease.