HSE WM 261/07 3 October 2007

HSE prosecutes Bloom Environmental Ltd

HSE warns employers to take proper precautions when removing asbestos after company fined £12,000

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has warned companies to ensure that adequate precautions are taken in the removal of asbestos, as asbestos-related disease accounts for over 3,500 deaths every year.

The warning comes after Bloom Environmental Ltd of Loughborough and with a working address at Lea Hall Enterprise Park, Wheelhouse Road, Rugeley, were fined £12,000 and costs of £3,750 at Halesowen Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday 2 October.

The prosecution follows a routine inspection by the HSE of a business premises in Stourbridge Road, Halesowen, where employees of Bloom Environmental Ltd were removing asbestos on 23 November 2006, as the building was being prepared for demolition.

The HSE inspector found that five of the company’s employees were not taking proper precautions, contravening Regulations 7,11,16,17 and 23 of the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2006. The inspector issued a Prohibition Notice, stopping the work.

Prosecuting HSE Inspector, Tony Woodward said:

“Breathing in asbestos fibres can lead to asbestos-related disease, which kills over 3,500 people a year – more than any other single work-related illness. The disease can take many more years to develop and individuals will not be immediately aware of a change in someone’s health after inhalation of asbestos. Employers involved in this field of work have a responsibility for the safety of their employees, and we are working with the industry to ensure high standards to protect health are achieved.”

Notes to editors:

1. Bloom Environmental Ltd was charged with five offences under the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2006. The regulations contravened were:
   • Regulation 7 (1) which requires an employer to prepare a suitable written plan of work detailing how work is to be carried out before it is undertaken.
   • Regulation 11(1)(b) which requires that where it is not reasonably practicable to prevent exposure to asbestos, an employer shall take measures necessary to reduce the exposure of his employees to asbestos to the lowest level reasonably practicable by measures other than the use of respiratory protective equipment.
   • Regulation 13(1) requires an employer to ensure that control measures provided meet to the requirements of the Regulations, shall in the case of plant and equipment be adequately maintained.
   • Regulation 16 which requires that where it is not reasonably practicable to prevent the spread of asbestos, every employer shall reduce it to the lowest level that is reasonably practicable.
   • Regulation 17 which requires every employer who undertakes work that exposes his employees to asbestos shall ensure that the relevant premises and plant are kept in a clean condition.

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