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Control failures risked exposing workers to asbestos-containing materials
Contractor Fadil Adil London has been ordered to pay almost £28,000 in fines and prosecution costs because of the way work was carried out on a construction site in Bromley between 21 and 29 June 2010.
The project involved the demolition of a building comprising a ground floor restaurant with flats above. Asbestos insulation boards in the restaurant ceiling were broken up during the demolition which Mr Adil was overseeing. Three workmen demolished the building using sledgehammers and hand-operated breakers potentially causing exposure to asbestos fibres.
HSE investigators found that the defendant had not been issued with a licence to work with asbestos and was not trained in construction management. He failed to carry out an asbestos survey and did not provide any guidance to the workmen regarding the presence of asbestos.
Asbestos survey must be commissioned
At City of London Magistrates’ Court Fadil Adil pleaded guilty to breaching the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2006, and the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2007. He was fined £19,300 and ordered to pay costs of £7,654.
HSE Inspector Ian Seabrook said:
“Sadly, this kind of incident is all too familiar because the defendant’s actions meant that his colleagues were more than likely exposed to asbestos fibres.
The dangers of asbestos are well known; it is the single greatest cause of work-related deaths in the UK with around 1,000 tradesmen dying each year from asbestos-related diseases.
Anyone working with these sorts of materials has to commission an asbestos survey to ascertain the level of work needed and then have asbestos removed in a controlled manner by a licensed contractor.”