Birmingham Magistrates’ Court was told how the workers were asked to remove the internal wall by their manager. There was no asbestos survey or an up to date asbestos management plan for the premises.
The HSE’s investigation found that asbestos insulation sheets were removed unsafely without proper precautions, and by unlicensed individuals from the company, without any safeguards in place to prevent the spread of the asbestos fibres.
Birmingham Specialities Ltd of Moor Lane, Birmingham pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2 (1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974. The company was fined £20,000 and ordered to pay costs of £2,454.40.
Speaking after the hearing, HSE Inspector Tariq Khan said: “Asbestos in buildings needs to be managed or removed by competent contractors. Those in control of work have a responsibility to devise safe methods of working and to provide the necessary information, instruction and training to their workers in the safe system of working. The company needed to follow the proper procedures by carrying out an asbestos survey and formulating an asbestos management plan as well as training those responsible for managing asbestos.”
In this episode of the Safety & Health Podcast, ‘Burnout, stress and being human’, Heather Beach is joined by Stacy Thomson to discuss burnout, perfectionism and how to deal with burnout as an individual, as management and as an organisation.
We provide an insight on how to tackle burnout and why mental health is such a taboo subject, particularly in the workplace.
Sadly this is not enough to buck the trend. Companies who take risks with asbestos should be fined ridiculous sums of money. I’m certain the courts don’t appreciate the severity of this offence and that it makes the threat of legal action by the EU when the 2006 CAR Regs were brought in a bit of a joke. We have the world’s leading standard on Asbestos Management but enforcement and punishment are a joke. Far too many cowboys getting away with murder in this field.
I’m the worker who took the internal wall down and the company lied to myself from the beginning
Hope you are getting compensation for this Trevor.
This sounds like a personal injury case… For businesses, it is of importance to know when the building was constructed before doing any renovations to avoid mishaps like this from happening, and best to consult an asbestos tester and removalist. Exposure to asbestos can lead to Mesothelioma, a type of rare cancer.