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- Changes to asbestos regulations – CAR 2012 - The Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012 came into force on 6 April 201... http://t.co/dj4pBtgU
- #Asbestos News: £133 million order book for Silverdell PLC http://t.co/VnyShrXR
- Bath MP Don Foster’s backing for asbestos dump protest - Bath MP Don Foster has added his voice to a campaign to sto... http://t.co/QOAlkjMp
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- INDG223(rev5): Managing asbestos in buildings A brief guide http://t.co/V6AZOCxc
- Somerset widow gets Bristol Water asbestos death payout - A Somerset woman is to get £290,000 in compensation from ... http://t.co/7RNw53LF
- #asbestos Somerset widow gets Bristol Water asbestos death payout: A Somerset woman is to get £290,000 in... http://t.co/XNksoUTa #news
- Local councils satisfy HSE on asbestos management in schools http://t.co/o3Wuk3Gm
- #asbestos Council neglected to inform tenants of asbestos disturbance: A local authority and a building co... http://t.co/0X3n6YcY #news
- Parent firm liable in “historic” asbestos case - In a judgement that could have far-reaching ramifications for UK c... http://t.co/dob1ua4w
Posts Tagged ‘Asbestos News’
The UK Supreme Court today made a ruling which could allow thousands of insurance claims by relatives of people who have died following exposure to asbestos. Silverdell PLC the Specialist Environmental Support Services group has put out the following statement in response to this historic ruling:
Sean Nutley, Chief Executive Officer of Silverdell PLC.
“This is a landmark ruling by the Supreme Court. Currently, around 4,700 people in the UK die from asbestos related disease and that number is expected to rise to more than 5,000 per year and the route to fair compensation in the past has been notoriously slow and difficult to follow. This judgement removes the obstacle that the insurance companies sought to include which tried to define the insurance as only being valid on the date of diagnosis of the disease, not the date the exposure occurred.
However, it does emphasise the importance of effective and compliant asbestos management in the workplace: without this, organisations will, in the future, find a compensation defence harder to mount. Accordingly, we urge employers and managers to take this opportunity to review their existing management plans and ensure that current measures are appropriate. In this way, the end result of this very tragic case will be safer work environments and improved public health.”
Pupils and staff returned to Flora Stevenson Primary School this morning after an asbestos scare.
The school was shut down on Thursday last week with all pupils evacuated to nearby Broughton High School after it was discovered the substance had been disturbed by workmen.
The council said tests had shown the school was safe and a full cleaning took place over the weekend.
On Friday, the Evening News told how parents were “horrified” by the possibility their children might have been exposed to the asbestos, which was disturbed “out of hours”.
They were informed the pupils were being moved out of the school just after 11am on Thursday morning – around two hours after lessons began.
Asbestos has been found in the interior of Flora Stevenson Primary School.
A primary school in Scotland will be closed until at least Monday after asbestos was found in the building.
Pupils at Edinburgh’s Flora Stevenson Primary School, in Stockbridge area, were evacuated in mid-morning yesterday after the substance was discovered in the walls during routine work. The asbestos had apparently been disturbed whilst builders were installing a new door.
Parents were contacted via text message to collect their children from Broughton High School where the 447 pupils were evacuated too.
Mike Rosendale, the council’s head of schools, said that a “small quantity of asbestos” had been disturbed, but that the health and safety of pupils was of “paramount importance”, so the decision had been taken to evacuate all pupils as a precaution.
The school’s nursery, which is housed in a separate building, remained open. Following a further inspection of the building, Mr Rosendale, said last night that the property had been deemed safe to re-enter:
“An independent inspection was carried out this afternoon and has indicated that the building is safe. A full clean will now take place with the aim of re-opening the school on Monday.
Bradford councillors have been warned they may have been exposed to potentially-deadly asbestos during a visit to the city’s former Odeon cinema.
Trespassers who have broken into the building may also be at risk according to its owners, the Homes and Community Association (HCA).
Warning letters have been sent to councillors who visited the building before they made the controversial decision allowing it to be demolished.
The move comes after the HCA commissioned consultants to carry out a survey of the potential risk as the building had deteriorated further.
A spokesman said “very high” levels of asbestos were discovered and the HCA is now taking urgent action to remove the dangerous substance.
Councillor Mike Ellis (Con, Bingley Rural), chairman of the regulatory and appeals committee, was joined by six other members and officers for the visit.
They were given protective suits when they entered the building with Council officers for the visit, organised by the Odeon’s previous owners Yorkshire Forward, said Coun Ellis.
He said: “I can confirm that we have been notified about the problems that have come to light and that there is the possibility that we have been exposed.
“I would say that perhaps they could have been more vigilant.”
A South Yorkshire primary school has been forced to close for emergency asbestos works.
Children at Whiston Junior and Infant School in Rotherham were sent home from school and will now be taught at different venues, including Magna Science and Adventure Centre and another nearby primary school, until the Easter holidays.
Some traces of asbestos were found in the building before the school building was due to be refurbished.
Headteacher Jackie Williams said last night:
“Clearly we do not take the decision to close the school lightly, but the safety and well-being of staff, pupils and visitors is always our first priority so we have taken this precautionary step while work is completed.”
She went onto say:
“Initial tests that have been carried out do not indicate any health risks and further tests and work will be completed to ensure that the refurbishment work can continue safely for all concerned.”
A Cardiff company has been fined after a building survey failed to identify the presence of asbestos, putting workers health at risk.
PHH Environmental (UK) Ltd was commissioned to produce an asbestos Survey on the soon to be demolished Old Castle Cinema in Merthyr Tydfil.
The Merthyr Tydfil Magistrates’ Court heard that, PHH’s client relied on this survey to help its demolition company plan the work.
It was only once the work had begun that the workers discovered asbestos, by then they had already disturbed it.
PHH Environmental (UK) Limited, of Titan House, Cardiff Bay Business Centre, Lewis Road, Cardiff, pleaded guilty to breaching Section 3 (1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974. The company was today fined £5,000 and ordered to pay costs of £3,000.
Asbestos Awareness
Medway has Britain’s second highest rate of asbestos linked deaths.
The Government has been accused of dragging its feet in offering help to victims whilst they are still alive.
Results from a freedom of information request to the UK’s office of statistics made shocking reading for a company of compensation specialist.
It found only Barrow has a higher death rate for its population, with 8.4 dying per 100,000.
The national average is 2.5 deaths, therefore Medway is almost triple that, with 6.5 deaths.
The soaring number of cases of mesothelioma have been contributed too by heavy industry in the past, including, power stations, an oil refinery and of course the Royal Navy Dockyard.
Gravesham’s death rate of 4.0 is 23rd in the list, with Maidstone 32nd, and Tonbridge and Malling 33rd, both with a rate of 3.7.
Sevenoaks is 36th with 3.7; Thanet 42nd with 3.7; Shepway is 68th with 3.2; Dartford 92nd with 3.0; Swale 114th on 2.8; Canterbury 139th on 2.6; Tunbridge 199th at 2.2; Ashford 240th at 2.0; and Dover 278th with 1.7.
There will be new rules implemented at the Priorswood recycling site in Taunton, as well as the rest of Somerset from March, requiring all asbestos to be double wrapped and sealed for disposal.
Priorswood accept cement bonded or sheet asbestos, any other form of asbestos residents should seek professional advice for.
Asbestos needs to be brought to the sight in rubble bags closed with gaffer or duct tape and the recycling centre will have to be informed before the asbestos is dropped at the recycling site.
Larger sheets of asbestos should not be broken but double wrapped using heavy duty plastic.
The Somerset County Council now provide asbestos collection for a fee, if you are unable to take asbestos to Priorswood.
Somerset Waste Partnership managing director Steve Read said:
“Somerset is raising the standards to ensure everyone’s safety, whether it’s residents disposing of asbestos or other recycling site users and staff.”
National Trust rangers found asbestos waste which was illegally dumped on Haresfield Beacon.
The National Trust whom have had to pay for the safe removal of the asbestos in ordered to ensure the area is clean and safe, is appealing to anyone whom witnesses illegal dumping to report it to the police.
The trust have had to deal with 9 incidents of rubbish dumping in the last few weeks and in each case they have had to pay for the correct disposal of it.
David Armstrong, Gloucestershire Countryside head ranger said:
“The asbestos was our biggest concern because it needs to be disposed of carefully by licensed contractors with the correct safety equipment.”
“It will cost us well over £1000 just to deal with that one incident, money which we would rather spend on improving the facilities for visitors to Haresfield and our other work on caring for the wildlife on these wonderful places.”
“If anybody does see any vehicles illegally dumping rubbish they should note the registration number and call the police.”
The trial of the two former Swiss Building firm executives, whom had been accused of negligence of asbestos- linked deaths, opened in 2009 attracting huge media interest in Italy.
The Swiss tycoon and Belgium baron have been convicted by an Italian court over some 2,200 asbestos-related deaths.The former executives Stephan Schmidheiny and Jean-Louis de Cartier have both received 16 years imprisonment.
The Turin court said that the two were key shareholders at the building firm Eternit and had failed to comply with safety rules, they denied the charges.
Prosecutors debated that thousands had died from being in contact with asbestos fibres, which were processed in four of the firm’s plant.
64 year old Swiss Schmidheiny and 90 year old Belgian De Cartier have been sentenced in absentia on Monday.
They were charged with a maximum of 12- year’s term however, during the trial the prosecutors fought for a harsher punishment, arguing that victims are still being affected. It was also said that Eternit’s plant had spread asbestos fibres over part of northern Italy by allowing powder leftover from production to drift into the air.
A full investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is being called on by the Trade Union GMB, following allegations that council sub-contractors working on properties in Pollard Close, Holloway, in December 2010 broke strict regulations.
The trade union claimed that workers had disposed of white asbestos floor tiles in ordinary bins, potentially exposing refuse collectors and also the public to the dangerous substance.
The council insisted that the tiles, which are known to be of a low contamination risk, were bagged up and appropriately disposed of at a licensed site.
Gary Doolan, GMB’s Islington branch secretary said that the council has provided no evidence to prove that the claims were wrong.
Gary Doolan said that:
“It only takes one fibre of white asbestos to cause harm. It should be treated with the same priorities as high risk material.”
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