Posts Tagged ‘Asbestos Removal’
Firm’s £5,000 asbestos bill
A NORFOLK company and a contractor from Manchester have been fined after failing to manage asbestos removal work at a renovation site in Great Yarmouth.
Mohammed Zahid was employed in May 2009 by Azam Bros Ltd of Hunstanton to clear damage caused by a fire at two commercial units they owned in Regent Street, Great Yarmouth.
Complaints were received by Great Yarmouth Borough Council that a skip outside the premises had no cover to prevent dust contaminating surrounding work units or being exposed to the general public.
The council issued a prohibition notice to stop work and asbestos was later found to be present. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and local authority launched a joint investigation which resulted in prosecution.
HSE inspectors told Norwich Magistrates’ Court that Mr Zahid failed to order an asbestos survey, as required by law, before starting renovation work, was not trained in asbestos removal and did not possess the required licence.
Azam Bros Ltd admitted breaching Regulation 4 of the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2006 and were fined £2,500 and ordered to pay costs of £2,500.
Mohammed Zahid, 33, from Wilbraham Road in Manchester, was fined a total of £1,000 after being found guilty of breaching regulations 5, 8(2), 10 and 16 of the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2006 and ordered to pay costs of £500. Read More
Firms used cheap, unlicensed contractor to remove asbestos materials
Two companies and a contractor have been prosecuted for releasing asbestos fibres during an office refurbishment project in Birmingham city centre.
The building – at 114-116 Colmore Row – was owned by Evanacre Colmore Row Ltd, which, together with project managers Marchment Consulting, hired builder Roland Morewood to carry out work over the weekend of 29 January 2010.
The work involved upgrading a lift, which, an asbestos survey held by Evanacre showed, contained asbestos insulating board. Nevertheless, the firms hired unlicensed contractor Morewood to remove it, for which he charged a significantly lower fee than a licensed contractor.
When lift engineers (not linked to either company) arrived at the site, they found pieces of asbestos insulating board spread around the lift shaft area and refused to carry on working. The HSE was informed and its inspectors subsequently discovered that asbestos fibres had spread to several parts of the building.
Air tests taken on several floors of the premises – which was operational and occupied throughout the refurbishment (though not on the weekend of asbestos removal itself) – revealed significantly high levels of asbestos fibres, which were also found in several vacuum cleaners used around the building. The HSE stopped all workers from going into the building until it had been decontaminated.
Asbestos insulating board was also found stored in Roland Morewood’s van, which itself was heavily contaminated with raised levels of asbestos fibres in the air. Read More
Fines for companies that ignored asbestos hazard
A Norfolk company and a contractor from Manchester have been fined after failing to manage asbestos removal work at a renovation site in Great Yarmouth.
Mohammed Zahid was employed in May 2009 by Azam Bros Ltd of Hunstanton to clear damage caused by a fire at two of its commercial units in Regent Street, Great Yarmouth.
Complaints were received by Great Yarmouth Borough Council that a skip outside the premises had no cover to prevent dust contaminating surrounding work units or being exposed to the general public.
The council issued a prohibition notice to stop work and asbestos was later found to be present. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and the council launched a joint investigation that resulted in prosecution.
HSE inspectors told Norwich Magistrates’ Court that Mr Zahid failed to order an asbestos survey, as required by law, before starting renovation work, was not trained in asbestos removal and did not possess the required licence. Read More
Builders fined over asbestos
TWO Mansfield builders have been fined £20,000 after contaminating a 96-year-old woman’s flat while removing asbestos boards used to box in pipework.
Company directors Kevin Abbott and Stephen Mason, of Abbott and Mason Building and Joinery Contractors Ltd, failed to take proper precautions while undertaking the work at the flat in Nottingham.
The two builders and their staff left dust on the floor, failed to cover and seal furnishings properly and left asbestos panels outside the main entrance to the housing trust flats where they were working without signs to warn the public. Read More