A TEESSIDE firm has been hit with a £8,000 bill by the courts after two workers were exposed to asbestos dust. Darchem Engineering was not aware that the ceiling into which they were drilling contained asbestos.
The company failed to train employees properly about dealing with asbestos, Teesside Crown Court heard. Two long-serving employees did not realise the risk of contamination when dust fell onto them during a renovation. They were working on the fitting of a suspended ceiling in the reception area of a company building on Ironmasters Way, Stillington, Stockton. Days later an air conditioning contractor who had been trained in dealing with asbestos realised the risk and raised the alarm.
It is not clear whether the employees, Frederick Beale and Ronald Blackett, will face risks to their health after the incident on November 13, 2008. A judge said the men would be concerned and anxious for their health, but added the risk was “very rare”. He said the company’s crime was one of “inadvertence or of omissions rather than any deliberate desire to cause risk”.
The men were exposed after the company did not train employees in dealing with asbestos and did not have an adequate system for discovering, monitoring and removing asbestos. He said the exposure was avoidable because a full and thorough site survey did not find the asbestos in 1998. “It wasn’t really for the want of looking but it was for the want of seeing,” said Judge Howard Crowson.
He said the company hoped or believed that it had removed all risk and done all it could, adding the lack of training was “regrettable” and the firm would have provided it if they thought it was necessary.
The judge said the Stillington company apologised in court after it pleaded guilty to two breaches of health and safety regulations regarding the control of asbestos. He said the incident was relatively minor and the company acted properly and appropriately afterwards. He fined the company £3,000 and ordered it to pay £5,266 costs.
Jeremy Freedman, defending, said the company halted the works, took samples and launched their own investigation before the Health and Safety Executive came in.
They devised a new plan for the renovations, redesigned the ceiling, conducted a comprehensive survey and gave training to employees. “They took active, positive and prompt steps to remedy the deficiency and they have an excellent safety record,” said Mr Freedman.
“This was not a deliberate breach in any sense of the word. It was an isolated, unfortunate omission.” He added Darchem had no previous improvement notices or prosecutions, and was recently given a clean bill of health by the HSE. He said the firm was in business for more than 50 years and stayed loyal to Teesside, employing 550 people.
Source: Gazette Live
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It’s rare for companies to be fined under Reg 10!
There is a requirement to provide asbestos awareness training on a 12 monthly basis.
it’s these kinds of incidents that justify the campaigns which the British lung Foundation and others are running. BLF are currently running a “Breathe easy” week campaign which aims to draw awareness to the dangers of mesothelioma and other lung conditions. There is also the Action Mesothelioma Day, which takes place this year on July 2nd. I suggest you all check out the information on the charity’s website http://www.lunguk.org/getinvolved/activities_listing/
BLF have fought some strong battles in the name of campaigning for rights for mesothelioma victims.