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Posts Tagged ‘asbestos-containing materials’
One of the biggest landlords in Bath has offered to pay for some new Christmas Decorations for tenant as their lofts have turned into no-go zones due to asbestos alerts.
A social housing provider Somer is working its way around 93 homes in Twerton and Weston due to low-level cement residue being found in loft spaces. In 1999 Bath and North East Somerset Council conducted a removal programme for asbestos cement roofing sheets before the 10,000 homes were transferred to Somer, however some of the materials still remain.
Tenants have been advised by the housing officials not to go into their lofts until the remedial work has been completed, £50 has been offered to the tenants towards replacement trees and decorations as these are usually stored in the loft space.
The homes concerned are immediate post-war British Industry Steel Frame properties which are among Somer’s oldest houses.The housing group says it has visited all the residents concerned and liaised closely with local councillors.
The Weston properties will have all the asbestos removed within the next two weeks however, the properties in Twerton might only have the traces of asbestos removed by end of March.
The left over residue was apparently only found when the heating systems were being replaced in the homes says Somer.
The speaker of the House of Commons, John Bercow, has given new details of Parliament’s efforts to combat its massive asbestos problem.
Parliament’s asbestos dangers first hit the national news in 2008, after a report leaked to Clinica magazine and the Guardian disclosed “significant dangers” to “all persons” from exposure to the carcinogenic substance in the Victorian-built Houses of Parliament.
Building asked Bercow – who is ultimately responsible for the upkeep of the parliamentary estate – how he was tackling the ongoing issue at the NFB annual conference last month.
Responding on his behalf, Commons staff revealed parliament has this year appointed Redhill Analysts as an asbestos consultant and defended the recent management of the asbestos problem.
The management has been criticised by Goddard Consulting, which produced the 2008 report.
Environmental health chiefs were called out to a country lane near Carlisle after this pile of asbestos was dumped at the roadside.
The corrugated asbestos sheeting was found over the weekend on the Cotehill to Armathaite Road, near to a quarry entrance.
It was spotted by Cumbrian Newspapers’ head of imaging, Stewart Blair, who took this photograph. “Whoever dumped it obviously knew what it was because they’d put a yellow label on top of it clearly saying asbestos.”
The discovery is just the latest in a series incidents where asbestos has been illegally dumped – probably because it would cost more to hire specialists to dispose of the asbestos safely.
The material in question had been broken up, which runs the risk of releasing dangerous fibres into the air.
STAFF at Alder Hey Hospital in Liverpool could have been exposed to the deadly building material asbestos.
The Daily Post can today reveal the substance was found in service ducts beneath the hospital during a routine safety check.
The ducts have now been sealed off. Health chiefs said tests confirmed wards and offices had not been affected.
They added the risk to people who have worked in the ducts – those employed in the hospital’s estates team – was low.
The 13 staff in question have been briefed on the situation, a spokeswoman for the hospital said.
A statement from Judith Adams, chief operating officer at Alder Hey, read: “The safety of everyone at Alder Hey is paramount whether a patient, visitor, an employee or contractor.
“We have been advised that the health risks to our staff from any potential exposure are minimal but we have put in place arrangements to further protect the health and safety of everyone at Alder Hey.”
A couplewho were left with no furniture in their living room after 10 weeks of asbestos hell have been handed a cheque for £5,000.
Michael Sweeney was livid after contractors cleared out his living room when they disturbed asbestos.
The Express revealed on Monday that Michael, 59, and his family were left without a couch to sit on, a TV to watch and a phone to use after Renfrewshire Council sent a team in to replace their old boiler.
But, after the Paisley Daily Express stepped in, he and his partner Margaret McGrory, 45, were handed a cheque yesterday.
Nursery worker Margaret, mum to Martin, 21, and Rachael, 14, said: “We are now in possession of our cheque. I would like to say thanks again to the Express. We have been given this because of your article in the paper. It definitely helped end our nightmare.
A DISTRAUGHT dad has told how he returned home to discover workmen had completely emptied his living room amid fears his familys belongings had been contaminated by deadly asbestos.
Michael Sweeney, his partner and their children, have been left without a sofa to sit on, a TV to watch or a phone to use after Renfrewshire Council sent in a team to replace an old boiler.
The workmen downed tools when they realised they may have disturbed asbestos while they were removing a water tank.
Asbestos specialists wearing white forensic suits then turned up in a decontamination van to clear around £5,000 worth of belongings from the living room so they could be safely destroyed.
They took away the familys sofa, curtains, TV, computer, DVD player, video games, mobile phone and even a passport.
A plant hire company and a construction services firm have been fined for exposing employees and members of the public to asbestos.
An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found Mansell Construction Services Ltd of Croydon and sub-contractor Woodlands Plant Hire Ltd of Ickleton, South Cambridgeshire, put workers and the public at risk by failing to properly manage the presence of asbestos during the refurbishment of a residential block of flats, between 24 November and 8 December 2009.
During the work in an occupied London Borough of Hackney block of flats, asbestos insulation board was disturbed and removed by unlicensed contractor, Woodlands Plant Hire Ltd, potentially releasing the deadly substance into the air.
A previous survey, identifying the presence of asbestos insulation board in a number of the properties, had been provided to Mansell, but had not been acted upon or passed to their sub-contractors.
Mansell Construction Services Ltd pleaded guilty and was fined £50,000 at the Old Bailey for breaching Regulation 22(1)(a) Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2007.
Woodlands Plant Hire Ltd pleaded guilty of breaching regulations 5, 8(1) and 11(a) of the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2006, and was fined £50,000. The companies were ordered to pay joint costs of £20,690.
HSE Inspector Dominic Ellis said:
“Despite recent high profile campaigns on the dangers of working with asbestos, this case sadly illustrates some companies are still failing to manage the risks robustly.
“Mansell had information that asbestos was present, yet neglected to act on it, meaning a licensable asbestos material was removed in an uncontrolled manner, needlessly risking the health of contractors and members of the public.”
Asbestos-related diseases are responsible for around 4,000 deaths a year. Working on or near damaged asbestos-containing materials or breathing in high levels of asbestos fibres, which may be many hundreds of times that of environmental levels, could increase your chances of getting an asbestos-related disease.
Source: HSE
Asbestos Industry News is the online voice for UK Asbestos News. The site covers information about asbestos management, asbestos surveying, asbestos removal, asbestos recruitment, asbestos claims, asbestos waste, asbestos legislation, asbestos inspection, asbestos related disease, asbestos training and much more. Visit www.asbestosindustrynews.co.uk, and subscribe to the RSS feed. or Subscribe to Asbestos Industry News by Email
Follow us on Twitter @UK_AsbestosNews
No survey, no plan, no risk mitigation measures and hazardous asbestos waste blocking pavements. That was the scene facing health and safety inspectors when they followed up a complaint about demolition work on an old church in Snodland, Kent.
Maidstone Magistrates’ Court heard yesterday (8 February) that the Health & Safety Executive (HSE) had received a complaint from a member of the public about demolition works taking place on the corner of Holborough Road in Snodland.
The site was owned by Bernard Berry of Berry Estates Development Ltd that was also carrying out the demolition of the building.
On 23 April 2010, two HSE inspectors visited the site and discovered the majority of the building had already been demolished but debris containing asbestos was blocking the pavement on one side and had also spilled out onto the pavement on the other side.
Mr Berry, who was the principal contractor, could not provide any paperwork such as a demolition plan, method statements or risk assessments. No asbestos survey had been completed prior to the demolition and site security was shoddy. A prohibition notice was served preventing any further work onsite.
After the notice was served Mr Berry commissioned a pre-demolition asbestos survey, which highlighted a number of asbestos containing materials across the site.
An HSE investigation showed that the building was being knocked into pedestrian areas and broken up with an excavator. It showed no evidence of employee training, no personal protection or respiratory equipment and no plan of work on site. It also revealed no provision to prevent dust spreading during demolition and crushing.
The owner of a Welshpool-based window and conservatory installation company has been fined for failing to protect its workers from exposure to asbestos.
Four employees were exposed while removing soffits on a property at Chirbury Gate, Montgomery, Powys, between 16 and 17 June 2009.
An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that Philip Leslie Davies, (54), trading as Meadow View Windows and Conservatories, had failed to take effective measures to prevent or reduce his employees being exposed to the potentially deadly substance.
Mr Davies, of Shrewsbury, admitted exposing employees to asbestos, failing to carry out a suitable and sufficient assessment, and failing to ensure adequate information, instruction and training was provided to employees.
He was charged with breaching of Regulations 5, 10(1) and 11(1)(a) of the Control of Asbestos at Work Regulations 2006.
He was fined a total of £3,000 (£1,000 for each charge) and ordered to pay costs of £1,615 at Welshpool Magistrates Court on 19 November 2010
HSE inspector Chris Wilcox said:
“Four of Mr Davies’ employees were exposed to asbestos in circumstances that were wholly avoidable.
“They now have to live with the fear of becoming ill with a life-threatening lung disease.
“Those working in the roofline products industry must check for the presence of asbestos and be fully aware of the legal requirements for working with asbestos-containing materials.”
Asbestos is the biggest single cause of work-related deaths in the UK, with an estimated 4,000 people dying every year. Information on working safely with asbestos is available at www.hse.go.uk/asbestos[1]
The court also ordered the defendant to pay a separate £15 victim surcharge, the proceeds of which will be spent on services for victims and witnesses.
Source: HSE
Asbestos Industry News is the online voice for UK Asbestos News. The site covers information about asbestos management, asbestos surveying, asbestos removal, asbestos recruitment, asbestos claims, asbestos waste, asbestos legislation, asbestos inspection, asbestos related disease, asbestos training and much more. Visit www.asbestosindustrynews.co.uk, and subscribe to the RSS feed. or Subscribe to Asbestos Industry News by Email
Follow us on Twitter @UK_AsbestosNews
Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council has been fined after sending an employee to deal with a water leak in a housing complex without warning him asbestos was present.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) prosecuted the council after it failed to warn the trained plumber that asbestos was present at a sheltered accommodation complex, despite possessing a survey detailing where it was.
Nuneaton Magistrates Court heard that on 17 August 2009 the employee was sent to Craddock Court in the town after a leak was reported. He found the faulty pipe in a ceiling void on the first floor of the building after removing an asbestos insulation board (AIB) ceiling sheet.
As the worker was unaware he was dealing with asbestos, he used a hand saw to cut part of the AIB sheet to gain access to the leaking pipe. He stood directly underneath the tile while sawing the material for around 20 minutes and though covered in dust was not wearing any personal protective clothing.
Nuneaton and Bedworth BC pleaded guilty to a breach of Regulation 4(9)(c) and Regulation 11(1) of the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2006. The council was fined £5,000 and ordered to pay costs of £2,140.
HSE inspector Mike Ford said:
“This case is particularly disappointing as we expect more from local authorities who actually have a duty to enforce the law concerning asbestos, and should be setting a good example.
“The dangers of asbestos are well known in the building industry so for Nuneaton and Bedworth BC not to inform its employee of its presence showed a major failing in the Council’s procedures at that time.
“The council had in its possession an asbestos survey for Craddock Court which included the details of the AIB above the first floor corridor.
“It is equally distressing that the work was being carried out in a public area of a sheltered accommodation complex. We can’t stress enough how important it is for anyone carrying out building work to obtain the proper asbestos surveys and then act upon them.”
Asbestos Industry News is the online voice for UK Asbestos News. The site covers information about asbestos surveying, asbestos removal, asbestos recruitment, asbestos claims, asbestos waste, asbestos legislation, asbestos inspection, asbestos training and much more. Visit www.asbestosindustrynews.co.uk, and subscribe to the RSS feed. or Subscribe to Asbestos Industry News by Email
Follow us on Twitter @UK_AsbestosNews
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