Cheltenham retailer and contractor prosecuted after asbestos exposure

Date:

27 July 2012

A Cheltenham contractor and a retailer have been prosecuted after a construction worker was exposed to asbestos during a refurbishment project.

Simon Cooper was engaged by Hutchinson HiFi and Vision Ltd in February 2010 to refurbish an empty shop unit in Cheltenham High Street, which involved replacing a suspended ceiling.

In a prosecution brought by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), Cheltenham Magistrates' Court heard today (27 July) that contractor Simon Cooper failed to ensure a proper asbestos survey was available before work began. As a result, workers on site, including Matthew Thompson 28, from Cheltenham, removed up to 85m of asbestos insulating board over two days on 16 and 17 February without the necessary controls or adequate protection.

The Court was also told that Hutchinson HiFi and Vision Ltd failed to provide any client information regarding the presence of asbestos within the building. They should have ensured a demolition and refurbishment survey was carried out and the results made available to Mr Cooper.

Speaking after the hearing, HSE inspector Simon Chilcott, said:

"As a result of the failings of Simon Cooper and Hutchinson HiFi and Vision, people were unnecessarily exposed to asbestos. This incident could have been avoided if the retailer had provided information on the presence of asbestos in the building and Mr Cooper had ensured he had seen a demolition and refurbishment survey before commencing the renovation work.

"The risks of asbestos are well known in the construction industry as are the controls required in dealing with it. Exposure to asbestos can have fatal or serious long term health consequences and, as such, every precaution must be taken to minimise any risks when working on buildings."

Hutchinson HiFi & Vision Ltd, of High Street, Cheltenham, pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 10 (1) (b) of the Construction (Design & Management) Regulations 2007 and was fined £3,500 and ordered to pay £1,836 in costs. Simon Cooper, of Leckhampton, Cheltenham, pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 5 of the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2006 and was fined £600 and ordered to pay £800 in costs.

Asbestos-related illnesses are responsible for around 4,000 deaths every year. Further information on working with asbestos can be found at www.hse.gov.uk/asbestos

Notes to editors

1. The Health and Safety Executive is Britain's national regulator for workplace health and safety. It aims to reduce work-related death, injury and ill health. It does so through research, information and advice; promoting training; new or revised regulations and codes of practice; and working with local authority partners by inspection, investigation and enforcement. www.hse.gov.uk
2. Regulation 10 (1) (b) Construction (Design & Management) Regulations 2007 states that: Every client shall ensure that every person designing the structure; and every contractor who has been or may be appointed by the client, is promptly provided with pre-construction information in the client's possession (or which is reasonably obtainable), including:
   1. any information about or affecting the site or the construction work;
   2. any information concerning the proposed use of the structure as a workplace;
   3. the minimum amount of time before the construction phase which will be allowed to the contractors appointed by the client for planning and preparation for construction work;
   4. any information in any existing health and safety file, which is relevant to the person to whom the client provides it
3. Regulation 5 of the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2006 states that: 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 and 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:
      1. assumes that asbestos is present, and that it is not chrysotile alone, and
      2. observes the applicable provisions of these Regulations

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