POOR PLANNING EXPOSED FAMILY TO ASBESTOS
Landlord, contractors and demo directors in the dock
Blankney Estates Ltd has been prosecuted after tenants of a house in Lincolnshire, including a three year old girl, were exposed to dangerous levels of asbestos dust at a property in Scopwick, Linsc.
Lincoln Crown Court heard that the company failed to manage adequately what were “clearly deteriorating asbestos materials” and did not ensure that work within the property to remove an asbestos-lagged tank was properly planned and carried out safely by competent contractors.
Plumbing company Michael Grace Ltd and Adam and John Thurlby, who were directors of a family-owned demolition company ART Dismantling Co Ltd were also prosecuted for breaching the Control of Asbestos Regulations (CAR) 2006 when they worked on removing the tank from the house.
Total fines and prosecution costs exceed £100,000
Blankney Estates Ltd of Charles Street, Leicester pleaded guilty to breaching Section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974. It was fined £50,000 and ordered to pay £20,000 in costs.
HSE said the company failed in its HSW Act Section 3 duty to take reasonable steps to ensure the premises were safe and to ensure that the work to remove the tank was done safely.
Adam Robert Thurlby, of Sandhill Road, Farndon, Newark, Nottinghamshire, and John Thurlby, of Malt Kiln Lane, Eagle Moor, Lincoln, also pleaded guilty. They were each fined £12,500 and were each ordered to pay £7,500 costs for contravening five CAR Regulations while acting as directors of ART Dismantling.
Michael Grace Ltd, registered address of St John Street, London, but trading locally in Lincolnshire, pleaded guilty to three CAR offences and was fined £10,000 plus £5,000 in costs.
Asbestos Awareness – Online
Course Aim
This course is specifically designed to help organisations and
individuals meet their legal obligation to train employees
whose work could lead to exposure to asbestos containing
materials (ACMs).
The regulations require that employers must ensure
employees have undergone suitable asbestos awareness
training so that they are aware of the potential dangers they may face and the procedures they must follow regarding ACMs.
Further information
• Introduction.
• Harm to the body from exposure to ACMs.
• Typical uses of asbestos in the past.
• Where ACMs can be found.
• Precautions and emergency procedures.
• Duty to manage ACMs.
• End assessment and certificate.