Clitheroe demolition specialists fined for Asbestos breach
A Lancashire demolition firm has been slapped with a £10,800 fine for endangering the lives of workers and local residents by levelling a building that contained hundreds of asbestos ceiling tiles, asbestos abatement specialists Senergi (http://www.senergi.co.uk/) report.
IBT Contracting Ltd in Clitheroe was penalised as a result of its failure to safely remove 166 square metres of asbestos, prior to undertaking the demolition of a one-time photography factory in Staveley Hill near Kendal in August 2011. Kendal Magistrates Court heard that concerned residents had made the Health and Safety Executive aware of the problem, expressing fears that the demolition process had commenced without the removal of asbestos boards.
The court also ordered the company to pay £3,638 court costs and a £15 surcharge after managing director Ian Tomlinson pleaded guilty to three breaches of the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2006. These were for asbestos removal without a licence, allowing asbestos fibres to spread to nearby areas and exposing workers to the fibres. The magistrates heard that the firm proceeded with its plan to knock down the roof of the building, causing the exposure of fibres to the air, despite a building survey from the site’s owners having alerted them to the presence within the structure of asbestos ceiling tiles.
Investigating inspector at the HSE, Allen Shute, said that the amount of asbestos fibres that had been released was “considerably large”, adding that the company “cutting corners” in its asbestos analysis and failing to arrange for the safe removal of the asbestos ceiling tiles by a licensed contractor “put the lives of workers in danger”. He added that the presence of several houses backing onto the site had also put local residents at risk, although he stated that their level of exposure to the fibres was probably “relatively low”.
Shute went on to state that it was the site’s workers that would “now have to live with the knowledge that they may develop a deadly asbestos-related disease in the years to come because of the actions of IBT Contracting.” The sole member of staff to still be working at the unit following the release of the fibres was Mr Tomlinson’s son, Ryan.
Tomlinson claimed to have been told by an engineer prior to the demolition that the asbestos removal process had taken place, and affirmed that “we take our work very seriously, and we take health and safety very seriously. If we came across notifiable asbestos, we have a company in Preston we use to have it dealt with properly.”
The hearing marked the first time that Tomlinson had been in trouble with the law.
For more information about asbestos awareness training, simply contact Senergi at http://www.senergi.co.uk.
Processing your request, Please wait....
