Development company fined for asbestos breach at Poole property

Date:

20 May 2010

Release No:

WW790/SWW/10

A development company has been fined a total of £15,000 at Bournemouth Crown Court today (21 May) for exposing employees and members of the public to the danger of asbestos containing material while carrying out work at a property in Poole.

Savoir Developments Ltd of Colchester, pleaded guilty at earlier hearing to breaching Regulation 5 and Regulation 16 of the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2006 and were fined £7,500 for each offence.

The company failed to carry out a sufficient assessment as to whether asbestos might be present which potentially exposed employees and also failed to reduce the spread of asbestos on site.

Savoir Developments Ltd was also ordered to pay costs of £10,461.

The incident happened at 24 Market Street, Poole in March 2008 as the building was being converted into three residential properties.

Following concern raised by neighbours about dust from the work, a Health and Safety Executive (HSE) inspector visited the site.

After the hearing, HSE inspector, Kathy Gostick, said: "This sentence sends a clear message that employers must check for the presence of asbestos and take measures to ensure its safe handling and removal and to avoid its spread.

"Asbestos is extremely harmful to human health and exposure to asbestos is the most serious occupational health issue in the country, with more than 4,000 people dying every year from asbestos related diseases."

Notes to editors

1. Regulation 5 states: "An employer shall not undertake work in demolition, maintenance or any other work which exposes or is liable to expose his employees to asbestos in respect of any premises unless either -
   1. he has carried out a suitable an sufficient assessment as to whether asbestos, what type of asbestos, contained in what material and in what condition is present or is liable to be present in those premises; or
   2. if there is doubt as to whether asbestos is present in those premises he (i) assumes that asbestos is present... and (ii) observes the applicable provisions of these Regulations."
   Regulation 16 states: "Every employer shall prevent or, where this is not reasonably practicable, reduce to the lowest level reasonably practicable the spread of asbestos from any place where work under his control is carried out."
2. Further guidance and advice on health and safety issues relating to asbestos can be found on the HSE website at: http://www.hse.gov.uk/asbestos.
3. Asbestos is a naturally occurring fibrous material that has been a popular building material since the 1950s. It is used as an insulator (to keep in heat and keep out cold), has good fire protection properties and protects against corrosion.
4. Because asbestos is often mixed with another material, it's hard to know if you're working with it or not. But, if you work in a building built before the year 2000, it's likely that some parts of the building will contain asbestos.
5. Asbestos is found in many products used in buildings, including ceiling tiles, pipe insulation, boilers and sprayed coatings.

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Issued on behalf of the Health and Safety Executive by COI News and PR South West