An asbestos removal company has been convicted and its director given a prison sentence after failing to ensure the safe removal of asbestos.
The company advertised as a licensed asbestos removal company and removed licensable material from domestic properties throughout Great Britain.
An investigation carried out by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that the company had never held a licence and their poor working practices resulted in the large scale spread of asbestos and exposure to homeowners and their families. Little to no precautions were taken so their own workers, as well as anybody at the premises they were working on, were at serious risk of exposure to asbestos. The company and their director also breached a prohibition notice on several occasions.
The director pleaded guilty to breaching Section 37 of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 in relation to the company’s failing of regulation 8(1) and 11(1)(a) of the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012 as well as the charge for breach of a prohibition notice. They were immediately imprisoned for 6 months and ordered to pay victim compensation.
Stockport Council’s Cabinet Member for Communities and Housing, said: “Our Trading Standards team, work closely with other agencies and will do our utmost to ensure offenders like this, who carry out work with no regard for the safety of our residents, are brought to justice. I am delighted that these criminals have been held to account. The message is very clear – we will not tolerate this and will take robust action wherever possible.”
Asbestos can be found in any building built before the year 2000 (houses, factories, offices, schools, hospitals etc) and causes around 5000 deaths every year.
- Asbestos still kills around 5000 workers each year, this is more than the number of people killed on the road.
- Around 20 tradesman die each week as a result of past exposure
- However, asbestos is not just a problem of the past. It can be present today in any building built or refurbished before the year 2000.
When materials that contain asbestos are disturbed or damaged, fibres are released into the air. When these fibres are inhaled they can cause serious diseases. These diseases will not affect you immediately; they often take a long time to develop, but once diagnosed, it is often too late to do anything. This is why it is important that you protect yourself now.
The only way to confirm definitively if a suspect material does contain asbestos fibres is to analyse a representative sample of that material. Analysis of asbestos samples is a skilled and specialist task and trained and competent analysts in analytical laboratories must be used.
If you hire a survey provider, you should satisfy yourself that they:
- can provide evidence of suitable competence and training
- can demonstrate independence and impartiality
- have effective management and quality systems in place
- carry out the work in accordance with recognised guidance
Get in touch today for any asbestos enquiries from awareness training to surveys. Email us at info@mbo.ltd or give us a call on 01691 688723.