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Posts Tagged ‘asbestos survey’
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) prosecuted Stuart Pearson at Guildford Magistrates’ Court for breaching the Control of Asbestos Regulations between the 20th of April and 1st of May 2011.
On the 30th of April 2012 the court was told that he had been employed to carry out the demolition of a house in Woking, Surrey, before groundwork’s were laid for a new property.
The previous homeowner had an asbestos survey carried out after a plumber refused to repair the boiler due to the presence of asbestos; this survey was given to Pearson to make him aware of the area which contained asbestos.
The survey highlighted that there were 12 metres of asbestos in poor condition within the house, with two of three areas classified as ‘high risk’. It went on to state: ‘This material is in very poor condition and debris now exists around the boiler and the floor within the rest of the room. This room must not be accessed until a full environmental clean and removal of all asbestos-containing materials has been carried out by a licensed asbestos contractor.’
The report also stated that the asbestos removal had to be undertaken in controlled conditions with the use of ‘enclosures, airlocks, negative pressure units and decontamination units’.
Results from the 2011 Great British Asbestos Survey have been released and reveals the level of awareness of asbestos in buildings from a wide range of industry.
The results for the Great British Asbestos in Buildings Survey 2011 are now available. The annual industry wide survey, carried out by the UKAS Accredited Asbestos Campaign www.asbestosinspectionbodies.co.uk , provides a comprehensive and accurate picture of the level of awareness of Asbestos in Buildings within the built environment industry.
Download the Asbestos Survey results here
The Survey was completed throughout 2011 by a wide range of professionals representing a range of business sizes and disciplines from across the UK.
Overall it would appear that many commercial businesses have asbestos management procedures in place but there are some significant gaps in terms of knowledge of responsibilities, provision of information and training and this is demonstrated by the number of people that have confirmed that they have disturbed asbestos during their activities. For Residential buildings the management of asbestos doesn’t seem to be as strong and although Regulation 4 is not applicable to residential buildings the other regulations are.
A construction company based in Edgware has been fined for carrying out unsafe demolition and construction work at a house in Surrey.
Laxmi Developments Ltd and its director, Vijay Madhaparia, were prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), for failing to comply with a Prohibition Notice (PN). They had failed to provide adequate safety protection for employees and failed to carry out an asbestos survey on a property before demolition.
Redhills Magistrates’ Court heard that during a visit to a building site at Mellow Close, Banstead, on 23 June 2011, an inspector from the HSE was confronted with such poor standards; he consequently served a PN and three Improvement Notices on the firm.
The inspector issued a PN as workers were found knocking down the house at first floor level with no edge protection to prevent falls. They were aware of the requirements for scaffolding and edge protection, however, Madhaparia had instructed workers to go ahead with the demolition without these measures in place.
The firm was served with three Improvement Notices; these were served to ensure sufficient demolition planning was carried out, to improve welfare facilities on the site and also to ensure the site supervisor was competent to carry out the works.
On the 6th of September 2011, photographs were sent to the HSE showing the PN being contravened and the same poor practices continuing on site. The HSE then telephoned Madhaparia to discuss the previous PN and to remind him of the dangers of working at height.
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.
LOCATION
Address:
2nd Floor
Holinwood Business Centre
Albert Street
Oldham
OL8 3QL
Contact: 0161 684 2333
BACKGROUND
Redhills first opened an office in the North of England in 2006. The office was developed in Leeds and due to client base and staff home locations the office was moved to Manchester in 2008. Due to expansion of the client base and workforce and our Manchester Office becoming the regional centre for our other Northern Offices in Newcastle and Scotland in 2011 we moved the office to a larger location with space to set up a laboratory which facilitates further expansion.
In May 2011 we achieved UKAS Accreditation for our bulk analysis laboratory. The office is run by an experienced team and continues to grow, servicing both a mature existing client base and a new developing client base.
SERVICES
We deliver the following services from the Manchester Office:‐
Asbestos Surveys
The Control of Asbestos Regulations 2006 requires a suitable assessment of asbestos to be undertaken that incorporates both identification and assessment.
A key stage in managing asbestos is to identify the location, type, condition and extent of any ACM’s. This can be achieved by carrying out an asbestos survey.
Do I need an Asbestos Survey?
If you are a duty holder with responsibility for buildings constructed pre-2000 you will probably need a Management Survey to assist in the mangement of asbestos (and protection of your employees health).
Or, If you are set to undertake any refurbishment or demolition works, you need to have a Refurbishment and Demolition Survey carried out before works commence.
Download the product summary document to find out more about our asbestos surveying services.
About Redhills
Redhills is part of the Silverdell PLC Group of companies We work with major organisations in the UK whose executives have a duty to protect people, assets and reputation. Redhills provides peace of mind through its Specialist Environmental Support Services, majoring on asbestos management and compliance monitoring. Which means that our Clients know their interests are always protected.
For further information please visit www.redhills.co.uk
Further information on Silverdell Plc can be found at www.silverdell.plc.uk
Subscribe to our asbestos surveyors guide blog here
The Welsh Government has launched an independent review into the management of asbestos at Bronglais Hospital in Aberystwyth.
The hospital failed to implement effective controls to manage asbestos after a survey in 2004 found the substance in stairwells and lift shafts. The unsafe practices, which required maintenance workers to operate in these areas, continued until 2009, when they were quickly identified by the hospital’s new Health Board and reported to the HSE.
However, the HSE was powerless to pursue a prosecution over the asbestos breaches because of a legislative error, which failed to ensure that issues of previous corporate criminal responsibility were transferred to the Hywel Dda Local Health Board when it was created – along with six others – in 2009, as part of NHS reforms in Wales.
The chief executive of NHS Wales, David Sissling, has now commissioned an independent review into the management of asbestos at the hospital, so that lessons can be learned for the wider organisation. The review will be undertaken alongside the ongoing investigation by the HSE and the internal inquiry by the Health Board.
Deconstruct (UK) Limited, the specialist provider of site enablement services has appointed a new Operations Manager Barry Fisher.
His core responsibilities will be the day to day co-ordination of projects and key support to our Project Managers, ensuring planning, procurement and resource allocation are sufficient and timely on all client projects. Barry is highly experienced in specialist demolition, temporary works and groundwork operations. Before starting his career in complex demolition and site enablement sector, Barry served in the armed forces.
After studying at the Royal School of Military Engineering in Camberley, he trained in plant operation and mechanics and specialised in demolition. Paul Ford, Group Managing Director of Deconstruct UK said ” Barry has an exceptional skill set that he has applied to several demolition and dangerous structure projects throughout the world, including Bosnia, Kosovo, Cyprus, Northern Ireland and the British West Indies which utilised both mechanical and explosive techniques.” Paul went on to say “Leadership and discipline come naturally with a background in the armed forces, these are useful qualities to have when managing demolition projects, we take this opportunity to welcome Barry to the Deconstruct team.”
A BUILDING contractor has been ordered to pay more than £14,000 in fines and costs after its workers were exposed to potentially deadly asbestos fibres during refurbishment work in Swansea.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) prosecuted Swansea-based J C Irvine Limited after an investigation found work on the refurbishment of the former Ace Electrics building in The Strand, Swansea, was being carried out without an asbestos survey having been done.
Swansea Magistrates heard that, between April 27 and May 12 last year, asbestos containing materials were disturbed by construction workers employed by the company, releasing asbestos fibres into the air.
The HSE was informed employees were carrying out work in a contaminated building. Inspectors who visited the site served an immediate Prohibition Notice.
Fadil Adil, of Coniston Road, Bromley, has been prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) for overseeing a demolition project which involved asbestos removal without an asbestos removal licence.
The project involved the demolition of a building which had a restaurant on the ground floor and flats above; the project was being supervised by a Fadil Adil from South East London. The HSE have prosecuted the contractor for running a construction site which led to workers being exposed to asbestos-containing-material.
The demolition took place between the 21st to the 29th of June 2010, where asbestos insulating boards were present in the ground floor restaurant ceilings. The ceilings were broken up by three workmen using sledgehammers and hand-operated breakers meaning there is a strong possibility that the workmen were exposed to asbestos fibres.
FRUSTRATED swimmers who were hoping to plunge back into historic city baths soon have suffered yet another setback.
The date for the re-opening of Moseley Road Baths, in Balsall Heath, has been put back until the New Year after large amounts of hazardous asbestos were discovered in the basement area.
The baths were closed in December for repair work after a corroded surround, called a lintel, in one of the fire exits was found to be in danger of collapse.
The lintel was replaced but the council’s Health and Safety team unearthed other problems which needed addressing, delaying the re-opening to September. But a new survey has now found that there are substantial amounts of loose and dangerous asbestos present in the basement.
The cost of removing the asbestos will be £80,000 and will add an additional ten weeks to the original repair programme.
A COMPANY has been cleared of all charges in a court case over deadly asbestos at Hugh Christie Technology College.
A jury at Maidstone Crown Court heard Basildon-based firm Advanced Environmental Services was called in to the Tonbridge college’s old building in May 2009 to get rid of asbestos before demolition.
It was alleged the firm failed to observe safety measures, putting workers’ lives at risk.
But on the second day of the three-day trial lawyers for the company argued there was no case to answer and, in a surprise move, the prosecution announced on Wednesday it would be calling no further evidence in the case.
In this month’s column, Fireco, supplier of fire safety products, systems and services, warns of the continuing dangers of asbestos in the workplace and the implications of failing to manage it properly
If you were asked what the single greatest cause of work-related deaths is, what would your guess be? Well, it may surprise you to know that in the UK it’s asbestos, which is responsible for around 4000 deaths a year.
That may seem like a staggering number of deaths from something you’d think was banished a long time ago. But asbestos was only fully banned from use in 1999, so if your premises were built or refurbished before then, there is a possibility that asbestos-containing materials (ACMs), commonly used in floor tiles, pipe lagging, Artex, fuse boxes, rainwater pipes and central heating systems, could still be present.
The danger arises when asbestos is damaged through bumps and scrapes or destroyed by cutting, drilling or ripping, releasing airborne fibres which can be lethal. However, if properly controlled and maintained, there is no reason why materials containing asbestos cannot remain in use for many years.
The Control of Asbestos Regulations 2006 cover the ‘duty to manage’ asbestos in non-domestic premises by owners and managers and others with relevant responsibility. Landlords also have a duty of care to ensure that asbestos is managed in their properties, especially in communal areas.
Failure to comply with the asbestos regulations may mean that a prohibition notice is placed on your buildings – effectively closing down your workplace until it is confirmed as safe. The duty-holder of a commercial property could also be liable for prosecution under the Control of Asbestos at Work Regulations.
Source: FMX
Asbestos campaigners have launched a national survey exploring general awareness and understanding of asbestos in buildings and the regulations designed to protect UK workers from being exposed to asbestos in their workplace. Take the Great British ‘Asbestos In Buildings’ Survey
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
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