Archive for the ‘Asbestos Management’ Category
High street retailer and two contractors found guilty of safety failings
Marks and Spencer plc and two of its contractors have been convicted for putting members of the public, staff and construction workers at risk of exposure to asbestos-containing materials during the refurbishment of two stores.
Asbestos is the biggest single cause of work-related deaths in the UK, with an estimated 4,000 people dying every year.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) prosecuted Marks and Spencer plc, Willmott Dixon Construction Ltd and PA Realisations Ltd (formerly Pectel Ltd). The work was carried out between 2006 and 2007 on shops in Reading and Bournemouth.
Winchester Crown Court heard construction workers at the two stores removed asbestos-containing materials that were present in the ceiling tiles and elsewhere.
Asbestos exposure at sheltered housing leads to fine
A Nottinghamshire building firm contaminated an elderly resident’s possessions with asbestos during bathroom renovation work at sheltered housing in West Bridgford.
Abbott and Mason 
Building and Joinery Contractors Ltd of Mansfield also left asbestos-containing materials outside the building in the open air, putting the public at risk.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) prosecuted the firm after it carried out work at the home of 96-year-old Mrs Ann Jenkins in Musters Road on 4 February 2010.
The company was removing asbestos insulation board (AIB) which had been used to box in pipework behind the bath but many of Mrs Jenkins’ possessions, including clothing and furniture was contaminated with asbestos fibres and had to be destroyed.
Asbestos campaigners launch asbestos awareness survey in conjunction with UKAS
British asbestos campaigners have today launched a national survey exploring general awareness and understanding of asbestos in buildings and the regulations designed to protect UK workers from being exposed to asbestos in their workplace.
The survey can be taken here:
The Great British Asbestos in Buildings Survey 2011
The survey has been developed in conjunction with the United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS) the organisation that currently accredits over 100 asbestos inspection bodies to carry out asbestos surveys. Known as the Great British Asbestos in Buildings Survey 2011, the survey will be promoted across all industries via the UK’s leading trade associations and trade unions, membership organisations and industry institutions. Tradesmen, building occupiers, dutyholders, clients, FM’s, property managers of non-domestic buildings will be encouraged to take the survey.
According to the HSE, asbestos is responsible for an estimated 4000 deaths each year and is the single greatest cause of work-related deaths in the UK. Results are expected to give an insight into awareness of the Duty to Manage Asbestos and highlight areas for raising awareness of the risks of asbestos in the workplace.
The Survey has the backing of high profile asbestos campaigners across the UK. Annette Brooke MP and Chair of the Asbestos in Schools Group welcomed the survey:
“This survey is a welcome step in the right direction. It is so vital that we highlight the dangers surrounding asbestos and I hope that participation in this survey is as wide as possible. ”
John Richards, Managing Director of analytical and surveying firm, Thames Laboratories said:
“With recent public sector funding cuts and the Government’s review of Health and Safety, we are concerned that this important subject maybe overlooked. Currently in the UK, more people are dying from asbestos exposure than in road accidents and yet our approach to asbestos still ranges from apathy to paranoia.
Recent conflicting reports produced from ATAC and HSE, and the issues of low level asbestos exposure, have led to the development of this research project, aimed at establishing what is really happening”.
Jon Murthy, Marketing & Communications Manager at UKAS said:
“This is the first industry initiative of its kind in which UKAS has participated and we hope to see this repeated annually to measure what improvements are happening within the asbestos sector. UKAS will play its role by ensuring the questionnaire is circulated to as many individuals as possible, from all industry sectors, via Unions, Trade Associations, Industry Institutions and Membership Organisations”.
The survey results will be published in a report in the summer 2011 via the campaign website www.asbestosinspectionbodies.co.uk and should highlight the issues arising from the most comprehensive review of the subject to date.
Source: Asbestos Inspection Bodies
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Workers exposed to deadly asbestos fibres at Topshop
Retail giant Arcadia has been sentenced, alongside a shopfitting firm, after construction workers were exposed to potentially deadly asbestos fibres at a Topshop store in Liverpool.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) prosecuted the clothing shops’ owners, Arcadia Group Ltd, and the principal contractor for the site, Vincents (Shopfitters) Ltd, following an investigation.
Specialists dealing with asbestos-contaminated materials at the Topshop store in Liverpool
Liverpool Magistrates’ Court heard that workers were exposed to asbestos fibres as they removed air conditioning, sprinklers and other equipment next to ceiling beams, which had previously been coated with sprayed asbestos.
The refurbishment work was allowed to go ahead despite a survey, carried out before the project started, identifying asbestos as being present in the building on Church Street in the city centre.
Company fined after failure to manage asbestos
A construction company has been fined after failing to carry out work correctly or properly manage asbestos while demolishing an old church in Snodland, Kent.
Maidstone Magistrates’ Court heard the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) received a complaint from a member of the public about demolition works taking place on the corner of Holborough Road in the town.
The site was owned by Bernard Berry of Berry Estates Development Limited that was also carrying out the demolition of the building.
On 23 April 2010, two HSE inspectors attended the site and discovered the majority of the building had already been demolished but debris containing asbestos was blocking the pavement on one side and had also spilled out onto the pavement on the other side.