Blog posts : "asbestos"
Asbestos 20 Years On: Still a Present Problem
Asbestos may have been banned in the UK 20 years ago this month, but it continues to have a devastating effect on people’s lives today. In this post, we explore how and why asbestos is still a problem.
The UK Ban on Asbestos
Following a ban in the 1980s on blue (crocidolite) and brown (amosi…
8 Unusual Places You Might Find Asbestos
As a naturally occurring material, the history of asbestos in tools and products stretches back thousands of years. Its seemingly miraculous properties of fire resistance and tensile strength led to its use in all kinds of products, with a particular boom in the early 20th century.
While many of …
Leicestershire construction firm fined after sacks of rubble thrown from building window
J A Ball Ltd. of Coalville was fined £13,000 with £1,182 costs after admitting breaching Regulation 4(1) of the Work at Height Regulations 2005.
Workers were spotted throwing sacks of rubble from a building project opposite a police station, police officers called the Health and Safety Executiv…
Free asbestos awareness workshops in Lancashire
Free workshops are being run across Lancashire to help small businesses better prevent the risk of exposure to asbestos.
Construction companies and small businesses are invited to attend one of six free half day events so they are aware of how they can avoid work that may disturb asbestos. This w…
Suffolk building company fined for asbestos and work at height failings
LJW Cladding Ltd. has been fined after removing asbestos insulation board without a licence and failing to protect its workers from falls of up to four metres at a farm building in Waltham, Essex.
Workers were potentially exposed to dangerous asbestos fibres and only provided with baby wipes …
Kent firm and director in court for unsafe demolition site
A Kent construction company and its managing director have been prosecuted after both displayed a ‘shocking disregard’ for workers’ safety at a demolition site in Surrey.
Daniel Lautier admitted two breaches of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act and his firm, ICG Construction Servic…
Why the UK’s awareness of asbestos is still lacking
It’s the single biggest cause of work-related deaths in the UK, yet there are still far too many people who are blissfully unaware of the problem. I am of course referring to asbestos.
Although the potentially deadly substance was completely banned outright in Britain in 1999, there are still m…
Asbestos: The Facts
Despite incessant media coverage and tremulous word-of-mouth horror stories, the risks of asbestos continue to be underestimated.
The fact is that asbestos can be lethal. The lack of immediate symptoms is deceptive, and can often mean that those handling the substance are unaware of the danger th…
Cheshire fertiliser firm sentenced over asbestos exposure
A fertiliser manufacturer has been sentenced after around 50 workers were exposed to potentially-deadly asbestos fibres at its plant at Ince Marshes near Ellesmere Port.
GrowHow UK Ltd. was prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) after asbestos was discovered during the refurbishment …
Safe methods of asbestos disposal
Handling asbestos can release fibres which are known to cause lung cancer and other lung and respiratory problems. According to the 2012 Control of Asbestos Regulations, removal of some asbestos waste is designated a ‘licensed’ task (and must be handled by special licensed contractors).
What …
Health board fined for asbestos failings
A Scottish health board has been fined for safety failings that led to several workers and contractors being potentially exposed to deadly asbestos fibres.
On 20 June, Glasgow Sheriff Court heard that Greater Glasgow Health Board, known as Greater Glasgow & Clyde NHS, had failed to properly manag…
Hotel chain fined for asbestos risk
A leading hotel chain has been ordered to pay more than £200,000 in fines and costs after construction workers and guests were put at risk of asbestos exposure at a Kent hotel.
Cheshire-based Britannia Hotels Ltd. failed to ensure a full asbestos assessment was undertaken before construction wor…
Why your business will benefit from a competent person service and health and safety support
According to the HSE (Health and Safety Executive), in the working year 2010/11, 1.2 million people were suffering from a work related illness. 26.4 million working days were lost due to work related illness and workplace injury.
It is the legal responsibility of every employer to make sure that…
Suspended jail term for director of Kent firm who ignored asbestos safety
The director of a Bromley firm has given a suspended jail sentence after removing asbestos without a licence and deceiving the householders by providing a doctored air test saying the room was safe to re-enter.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigated the circumstances of the incident a…
Company fined after workers and public exposed to asbestos risk
A property restoration and development company has been fined after workers and the public were exposed to asbestos in a Lincolnshire town.
J Hodgson and Sons Ltd., of Carre Street, Sleaford, disturbed asbestos insulating board during refurbishment work at the former White Hart pub between Mar…
Firms fined for asbestos failings
Two Lincoln companies have been fined after workers were exposed to asbestos during the refurbishment of a Northamptonshire hospital ward.
Contractors Simons Construction Ltd. hired Rilmac Insulation Ltd. to carry out an asbestos survey for them before work began on Martin Roth ward at St Mar…
Firms prosecuted over asbestos danger at Bolton mill
Two companies have been prosecuted after workers were exposed to potentially deadly asbestos fibres at a mill in Bolton.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) took legal action against Hazelwise Ltd. and RH Property Management Ltd. after finding dozens of damaged asbestos boards stacked up at B…
Fraudsters collude to trick independent school
Two men colluded with each other to commit fraud by falsifying a record stating that a school in Abingdon had been properly cleaned of asbestos.
The "unusual fraud" was confirmed by detective work by one of the men’s employers using GPS tracking technology on the employee’s company van.
The…
Cheltenham retailer and contractor prosecuted after asbestos exposure
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 invol…