Fife Council and contractor fined £13,700 for exposing staff and public to asbestos

HSE/SCO/134/2009 9 July 2009

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) today warned property owners to ensure that they keep accurate records of asbestos in their buildings and pass any information on to contractors.

The warning follows a serious incident in which contracted workers as well as members of the public were exposed to airborne asbestos fibres as a result of refurbishment work in council properties in Fraser Avenue, Inverkeithing in November 2007.

At Dunfermline Sheriff Court today, (Thursday 9 July, 2009), Fife Council was fined £10,000 after pleading guilty to a charge under section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974

The contractor, ECG Building Maintenance Ltd was fined £3,700 after pleading guilty to charges under sections 2(1) and 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974

Fife Council contracted ECG Building Maintenance Ltd to replace water storage tanks within the communal loft areas of properties in Fraser Avenue and adjoining areas. Some of these tanks were insulated with asbestos. ECG Building Maintenance Ltd were not licensed by HSE to remove asbestos nor were they competent to do the work. Their workers had not been adequately trained so did not recognise the presence of asbestos, or the risks posed by it. They also failed to implement established control measures to minimise the exposure to themselves as well as to other people in the vicinity.

HSE inspector Alastair Brown commented after the case:

" Fife Council failed to keep an understandable register of asbestos and failed to ensure that a full survey for asbestos was carried out prior to any work starting, so the information available was not sufficient to alert persons to the immediate danger from the asbestos prior to the work beginning.

"In view of the Council's previous experience of managing asbestos, this was a very disappointing incident. The effects of exposure to asbestos fibres can take as long as 20 to 30 years to manifest themselves, and over 4,000 people are dying every year in Great Britain due to the unrecognised exposure to asbestos earlier in their working lives. Legislation came into force in May 2004 which requires the organisation in control of any non domestic premises, or the common parts on domestic premises, to identify and assess asbestos in those premises.

"The Council failed to identify that asbestos was present in the area where work was to take place, and the contractor then failed to recognise it, resulting in the asbestos becoming airborne as it was disturbed and spread into public areas of the buildings."

In October 2008 HSE ran a campaign "Asbestos - the hidden killer" which highlighted the fact that 20 tradesmen are dying every week from asbestos related diseases. The purpose of the campaign was to increase the awareness amongst tradesmen, like those involved in this incident, and their employers of the risks from exposure to asbestos.
http:/www.hse.gov.uk/asbestos/hiddenkiller/index.htm

Notes to editors

1. Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 states:

   "It shall be the duty of every employer to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health, safety and welfare at work of all his employees"

2. Section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 states:

   "It shall be the duty of every employer to conduct his undertaking in such a way as to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, that persons not in his employment who may be affected thereby are not thereby exposed to risks to their health or safety."

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Issued on behalf of the Health and Safety Executive by COI News and PR Scotland.