Company Fined After Inaccurate Asbestos Survey Leads To Exposure

USRs concerned about the accuaries of their company Asbestos survey may like to bring to the attention of their managers the following news item regarding prosecution:

Following the prosecution of Bestoff Services Ltd of Chorleywood, Hertfordshire, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) reminded companies of the importance of the accuracy of asbestos surveys after two workers were unwittingly exposed to asbestos while carrying out refurbishment work.

Bestoff Services Ltd was fined £3000 and ordered to pay costs of £2091.70 and a victim surcharge of £15 at Didcot Magistrates' Court for a breach of s.3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work, etc Act 1974 at a construction site in Abingdon, Oxford, between 1 and 5 February 2008.

In February 2008, Bestoff Services Ltd carried out an asbestos survey at Unit 27, Nuffield Way, Abingdon, and reported that the site contained no asbestos. Two members of staff began work on the site the following month and part of their job involved removing panels of fibrous board.

Several days later the site manager became concerned about the pieces of fibrous panels that had been removed and had the panels analysed. The analysis revealed that they did contain asbestos. Subsequently, an additional survey was carried out which identified asbestos-containing materials in several areas throughout the building, including the areas where the two men had been working.

HSE inspector Karen Morris said, “This incident shows the importance of carrying out asbestos surveys before refurbishment work starts. In this case, the main contractor did the right thing by engaging a specialist asbestos surveying company, but was let down by them. It is vital that asbestos surveys are accurate and can be relied upon, in order to prevent this kind of inadvertent exposure. Had it not been for the vigilance of the site manager, many more people on site would have been put at risk of exposure.”

Source: Croner's