The Health and Safety Executive is to offer free asbestos awareness courses, as two cases of failure to protect workers from exposure highlight the ongoing problem across the industry.
In the first case, Birmingham City Council and Solihull Supplies were prosecuted when three men were exposed to asbestos while working on the refurbishment of William Cowper community Primary School.
Birmingham Magistrates’ Court heard that two workers had been tasked with stripping tiles from seven rooms in the school.
It was later found that these contained asbestos and had resulted in the two workers and the school’s caretaker being exposed.
Birmingham City Council was fined £5,000, with £1,091 costs, while the contractor was fined £1,750, with £1,091 costs.
Another case involved South Kesteven District Council and Belton Developments, when workers employed by the latter disturbed asbestos when renovating a flat in Grantham owned by the local authority.
The danger was spotted by an asbestos surveyor working for the council, who stopped the men working on site.
South Kesteven DC reported the incident to the HSE, leading to its prosecution alongside its contractor.
In a move to tackle the problem, the HSE is now encouraging training organisations, including Independent Asbestos Training Providers and the UK Asbestos Training Association, to work with it in partnership in a move that aims to provide 4,000 hours of free asbestos awareness training.
The training courses will be available throughout October and November and aimed at to trades including plumbers, electricians and joiners.
You might also like...
Community service for unsafe gas installation
A self-employed Lockerbie builder has been given a Community Service Order after he carried out unsafe gas installation work at a house near Dumfries
HSE finds landlord guilty of faulty gas appliance
A man who rented out his Huddersfield home left his tenant at risk by ignoring repeated warnings to have the gas appliances in the property safety-checked.
Second reading of retentions bill pushed back to June
MP Peter Aldous will now seek to build further industry consensus to pressure government to back new law requiring third-party deposits to be used for all cash retentions
Government to review CO alarm regulations
A number of potential amendments will be considered during process, including whether to require CO alarms to be fitted wherever heating systems are in place
Post-Grenfell building regulations review demands radical reforms
Review chair Dame Judith Hackett calls for end of overly complex regulation and a focus on clearer assignment of responsibility over the entire lifecycle of a building
2018 H&V News Awards winners unveiled
A total of 23 awards were given on the night, reflecting innovative news practices in technology and training, with SEC Group taking the BESA Gold Award for its payment reform campaign
