Company Fined Over Safety Failings On Removal Project
Demolition firms have been urged by an asbestos lawyer to learn lessons from an incident which saw a Preston company fined for failing to follow guidelines on removal of the material from a building.
IBT Contracting was fined more than £10,000 and ordered to pay costs after it was revealed that the firm was given a survey from the owners of a former photography factory near Kendal which showed the building contained 166 square metres of asbestos ceiling tiles.
However, the company did not arrange for licensed contractors to remove the tiles during the project in August and September last year, instead releasing the figures into the air during the demolition.
The firm pleaded guilty to three breaches of Control of Asbestos Regulations 2006.
Adrian Budgen, national head of asbestos litigation of Irwin Mitchell, said all companies involved in such work need to recognise the dangers of the materials.
He outlined: “We have represented many hundreds of people whose lives have been touched by the terrible legacy of asbestos and we have seen first-hand the terrible consequences that exposure to the deadly material can have.
“Sadly, this incident demonstrates that some employers are still failing to take the steps needed to protect both their workers and the general public from the material.
“Companies need to recognise the importance of always arranging the safe removal of asbestos from buildings where it is necessary and we hope that this incident, and the subsequent prosecution, will serve as a wake-up call to firms which have simply failed on this issue in the past.”
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