Asbestos prosecution for failure to communicate

In the words of Cool Hand Luke, “What we have here is a failure to communicate”. This led to an asbestos prosecution.

A Battersea building firm has been fined for failing to highlight the known presence of asbestos insulating board (AIB) in a warehouse – leading to exposure to a foreman and others to potential harm when the AIB was ripped out during refurbishment work.  RC Ltd was in possession of a detailed asbestos survey that clearly identified the location of the asbestos wall panels inside the warehouse. This survey, however, was not shared with the team. So when a foreman mistook the AIB for asbestos cement – a lower risk material – it was removed without adequate control measures and protective equipment.

The failure to communicate was identified by the HSE, which then prosecuted RC Ltd after investigating the contamination of the warehouse with asbestos in December 2011. The Magistrates’ Court heard that AIB should only be removed by a licensed asbestos contractor because of the risk of exposure to the dangerous fibres contained within it. The HSE established that the site foreman wasn’t provided with any documentation or other information about the panels. This was despite an asbestos survey being completed just two months prior to the work starting.

Because the foreman was unaware that the panels were made from AIB, the wrong kind of control measures were in place when he removed them. He and others could, therefore, have unwittingly inhaled asbestos fibres, which can cause terminal health conditions.

RC Ltd was fined £10,000 and ordered to pay £2,857 in costs after pleading guilty to two separate breaches of the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2006.