Health and Safety Executive

Local authority fined £18,000 over asbestos

HSE/GNN.NE/317/07 23 August 2007

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is warning dutyholders to ensure they take proper precautions when working in buildings where asbestos may be present. The warning follows an investigation at Woodhouse Close Leisure Complex in Bishop Auckland, County Durham.

Wear Valley District Council was fined £18,000 at Darlington Magistrates Court this afternoon after admitting six offences under the Control of Asbestos at Work Regulations 2002. It was also ordered to pay £7,722 costs.

The investigation followed a complaint in January 2006 by a maintenance worker, who discovered that the plant room of the council-run leisure centre where he had worked for many years contained asbestos.

HM Inspector of Health and Safety, Richard Bishop, said: "A survey had been carried out in 2001 which identified asbestos containing materials. This information was not acted upon and no-one who worked in the plant room was made aware. As a result, work that was liable to disturb the asbestos was done without the necessary precautions required by law to protect their health from exposure.

"This case should serve as a warning, not only to Local Authorities, but to everyone responsible for carrying out or contracting maintenance work on buildings where asbestos may be present.

"With up to 4,000 deaths per year - that's around 15 times the current rate of fatal accidents at work - asbestos-related diseases are the largest occupational killers in the UK. There is still a legacy of asbestos in buildings that needs addressing. It is estimated that some half a million non-domestic premises contain asbestos of some type. And this means there are still workers putting themselves at risk every day. Recent studies estimate that a quarter of those dying from an asbestos-related disease worked as electricians, plumbers, maintenance workers or builders.

"Where asbestos has been found to be present in buildings, the risk it presents must be evaluated and written plans devised and implemented that specify the steps necessary to address the risk. All work liable to expose people to asbestos must be carefully planned and assessed, with appropriate precautions taken to prevent or reduce exposure and the spread of asbestos."

Notes to editors:

  1. Legislation: Wear Valley District Council admitted and were convicted of six offences under the Control of Asbestos at Work Regulations 2002 (now repealed and replaced by the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2006):
    • regulation 4(8), which requires dutyholders to ensure that, where an assessment has shown that asbestos is present in any part of their premises, the risk from that asbestos is evaluated, and a written plan is prepared which identifies the relevant parts of the premises and the measures which need to be taken for managing the risk;
    • regulation 6(1), which requires employers to ensure that work liable to expose employees to asbestos is not carried out unless there is a suitable and sufficient assessment which identifies the risks and the steps that need to be taken to achieve effective control of exposure;
    • regulation 7(1), which requires employers to ensure that work with asbestos is not undertaken unless a suitable written plan of work has been prepared which details exactly how that particular work is to be carried out;
    • regulation 9(1), which requires employers to provide employees with adequate information, instruction and training;
    • regulation 10(1), which requires employers to either prevent or reduce employees' exposure to asbestos to the lowest level reasonably practicable; and
    • regulation 15, which requires employers to either prevent or reduce the spread of asbestos to the lowest level reasonably practicable from any place where work under their control is carried out.
  2. Asbestos: Asbestos is the single biggest cause of work-related deaths in the UK. It is a priority for HSE to reduce the number of deaths caused by occupational exposure to asbestos. Inhalation of airborne asbestos fibres can lead to serious and deadly diseases such as lung cancer, mesothelioma (a cancer of the lining of the lung) and asbestosis (an irreversible scarring of the lungs that causes a decrease in lung function).
  3. Guidance: Relevant HSE guidance relating to the control of asbestos includes:
    • L127 - The management of asbestos in non-domestic premises - Approved Code of Practice and Guidance to regulation 4 of the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2006 (ISBN 0 7176 6209 8)
    • L143 - Work with materials containing asbestos - Approved Code of Practice and Guidance to the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2006 (ISBN 0 7176 6206 7)
    • HSG227 - A comprehensive guide to managing asbestos in premises (ISBN 0 7176 2381 5)
    • HSG210 - Asbestos essentials task manual (ISBN 0 7176 1887 3)

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Updated 12.07.11