Council found guilty over asbestos breaches

A school caretaker was exposed to asbestos on two separate occasions while sweeping out a boiler house in a school in Wallsend, Tyne and Wear.

North Tyneside Council pleaded guilty to five breaches of the Control of Asbestos at Work Regulations 2002, for which it was fined over ?17K and ordered to pay costs of nearly ?4K.
 
Asbestos (amosite dust) was discovered during an asbestos survey in the attic and boiler house, which were duly quarantined.  A contractor was subsequently brought in who remove rubble but it did not remove the asbestos and did not inform the school that it was still present.

A caretaker new to the school swept down the walls of the boiler house on two separate occasions, unaware of its contamination by asbestos. "He was covered in dust and muck, from years of grime and filth," claimed the HSE investigating inspector. "He only became aware of the asbestos when he saw contractors entering the building to remove it."  The caretaker had not been provided with any instructions or precautions to take when entering or working in the boiler house - this was a total breakdown in communications.

The Council was fined for breaching each of the following five offences under the Control of Asbestos at Work Regulations 2002:

- Regulation 4, by not identifying the type of asbestos before work is carried out; 
- Regulation 6, by not notifying the enforcing authority of any work with asbestos;
- Regulation 9, by failing to ensure the proper use of control measures and personal protection equipment;
- Regulation 10, by not ensuring that control measures or equipment are properly maintained; and
- Regulation 13, by failing to ensure the cleanliness of premises and plant where work takes place that is liable to result in exposure to asbestos.

The HSE Inspector concluded: "The Regulations require those with responsibilities for the repair and maintenance of non-domestic premises to find out if there are, or may be, asbestos-containing materials within them. It also requires them to record the location and condition of such materials, and then assess and manage any risk from them, including passing on information about their location and condition to anyone liable to disturb them."

Director fined after worker's fall
 
A company director has been fined after failing to carry out a risk assessment for subcontracted electrical work.
 
Nicholas Anderson and his company were prosecuted after an electrician was seriously injured falling more than five metres at the former Pirelli Cables factory in Erith, Kent.
 
In March 2005, the electrician entered the Pirelli tower with a colleague to reclaim some electrical cable. The tower was being prepared for demolition.
 
He stepped on some steel sheeting covering a hole on the first floor and it gave way. He suffered a broken pelvis, fractured right hip, shattered hip socket and a broken rib.
 
HSE investigators found Wooldridge Ecotec had produced a health and safety plan and risk assessments which identified appropriate control measures, and the company's health and safety adviser had carried out an inspection. But Anderson, who was responsible for safety at the site and for risk assessing subcontracted work, had failed to carry out any risk assessments for the electricians.
 
The company failed to take effective steps to control the risks facing subcontracted electricians, and failed to prevent access to the tower once conditions inside had become hazardous.
 
The company had also failed to implement the findings of an earlier risk assessment for subcontracted electrical work, and failed to provide the electricians on the Pirelli site with appropriate information, instruction and supervision on the changing conditions inside the tower.
 
Both the company directors and the company admitted failing to ensure the safety of non-employees, contrary to Section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974.  The Director was fined ?5000 plus ?1657 costs, while the company was fined ?15,000 with ?4971 costs.

Builder fined after teenager sustains serious cement burns

An Oxfordshire-based building company has appeared in the dock after a 16-year-old employee received severe chemical burns to his legs due to wet concrete in his boots.

O'Brien & McIntyre LLP pleaded guilty to breaching reg.7(1) of the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002.

The court heard that on 23 March 2007, the young man had been employed as a ground worker, digging trenches and laying foundations for a small housing development in Warwickshire. The concrete was poured and spread in the trenches using a type of rake, to give a level surface on which to build walls.

According to the HSE inspector who investigated and prosecuted the case, the young worker was in the trench, "paddling in the concrete".

He added: "You don't need a great deal of wet concrete for it to be absorbed into the clothing and held against the skin. Wellington boots aggravate that by holding the concrete against the skin. Cement is very alkaline, giving rise to chemical burns, which are not felt until the damage has been done."

According to the HSE inspector, the event was exacerbated by a lack of adequate welfare facilities while the men were working. "It is very important when working with any cement product to have running hot and cold water, soap and towels, since cold water alone will not wash cement away," the inspector emphasised.

"Ground working is dirty, heavy labouring work, which is often badly paid. The ground workers had been allowed to use facilities across the road, but these had been locked on the day of the incident," he continued.

"By law, adequate welfare facilities must be provided before any work begins, but it is unfortunately extremely common for developers to fail to provide them for ground workers until actual building commences."