Asbestos Fines
9 October 2009
It is sad to see that demolition of buildings without proper controls to manage asbestos is still happening. The HSE has recently taken two companies to court after an unlicensed contractor was appointed to remove 3,000 sqm of asbestos insulating board from a warehouse. A&T Roofing had been awarded the contract for the work in November 2005 by Noble Gift Packaging Ltd.
Enfield-based contractor A&T Roofing pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 3(1) of the Asbestos (Licensing) Regulations 1983, and Sections 2(1) and 3(1)of the Health & Safety at Work Act 1974. They were fined £25,000 and ordered to pay costs of £33,844.30. Noble Gift Packaging Ltd. also pleaded guilty to breaching the Health & Safety at Work Act 1974. They were fined £40,000 and were ordered to pay costs of £19,223.65.
The HSE has said that "Not everyone exposed to asbestos goes on to develop life-threatening or terminal asbestos-related conditions such as lung cancer, asbestosis or mesothelioma. However, when people do develop such conditions, it is often many years after they were exposed. All the men exposed, and their families, will have this hanging over them for the rest of their lives. The HSE will always push for the harshest penalties in such cases."...