Asbestos exposure causes building organisation paying £1k fine

A company that put children in danger of contracting an asbestos-related illness has been fined £1,000 after being prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).

During a case at Stratford-upon-Avon Magistrates Court, Greswolde Construction Ltd of Solihull - a town near Birmingham - admitted to breaking two parts of the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2006 Act and also has to pay £2,268 in costs.

The firm was liable for this error because of an incident on July 9th 2009 when it was contracted to do the building work of an extension at a primary school in Rugby and three of its employees disturbed an area containing asbestos.

Then, despite being aware of the risks that this potentially posed to the children present in adjacent classrooms, the company opted to continue stripping out the area in preparation for the construction without informing the workers of the presence of the harmful chemical on site.

HSE inspector Paul Cooper said that this showed a "complete disregard for the safety and wellbeing" of these employees.

Posted by Helen Jones
 

24/08/2010 12:30