Contractor fined
for potential asbestos risk
The leaseholder of a restaurant has been
sentenced after illegally removing asbestos from the building putting people at
risk of exposure.
Aman Ullah was in control of
construction work which included the removal of asbestos insulation board
soffits from the premises which was being refurbished. The asbestos insulation
board was removed in an uncontrolled manner with no controls to prevent the
spread of asbestos fibres.
A Prohibition Notice was served
preventing any work near of the removal of the material except by a licensed
contractor. Mr Ullah failed to comply with the Prohibition Notice.
North Somerset Magistrates’ Court heard
that HSE found that Mr Ullah failed to take suitable measures to prevent the
spread of potentially deadly asbestos fibres as the asbestos was removed in an
uncontrolled manner and then left at the side of the building and in an area
which members of the public had access.
The court was told the nature of the
work meant that the asbestos should have been removed by a licensed asbestos
removal contractor.
Aman Ullah, 54, of Oldbury Court Road,
Fishponds was fined a total of £10,000 and ordered to pay £5,000 in costs and a
£500 victim surcharge after pleading guilty to two breaches of the Control of
Asbestos Regulations 2012 and The Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974.
Failure to Comply with Prohibition
Notice under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 section 33(1) (g).
Failure to reduce to the lowest level
reasonably practicable the spread of asbestos (Control of Asbestos Regs 2012
Reg 16).
Speaking after the case HSE inspector
Kate Leftly said:
“Asbestos is the single greatest cause
of work-related deaths in the UK, with some 4,500 deaths each year due to
asbestos-related diseases, as well as many serious illnesses.
“For this reason, work with asbestos
requires a high degree of regulatory control to ensure it is carried out
safely. Mr Ullah decided to ignore the fact an asbestos licence was required to
undertake this work and his actions not only put those working on site and
members of the public at risk.”
Skip Hire firm
fined over fork lift truck injuries
Waste Away Skip Hire (Liverpool) Ltd and
its Director, Leanne Koo, pleaded guilty to safety failings at South Sefton
Magistrates Court.
On 16 April 2013, a full time employee
of Waste Away Skip Hire (Liverpool) Ltd, was struck by a reversing fork lift
truck and dragged under a rear wheel whilst he was picking through waste
materials causing severe crush injuries to his leg and chest.
A safe system of work was not in place,
and a risk assessment had not been carried out which should have identified the
need to segregate pedestrians and vehicles within the workplace. The fork lift
truck did not have any audible warning siren or beacon for reversing or wing
mirrors and the rear window of the machine was dirty except for the area
covered by wipers. The truck had not been subject to a thorough examination by
a competent person as per the Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment
Regulations 1998 within the previous 12 months.
The employee suffered serious injuries
including broken ribs, a snapped pelvis, a punctured lung and the removal of
his spleen as a result of the accident.
Waste Away Skip Hire (Liverpool) Limited
of Canada Dock Railway Sidings, Regent Road, pleaded guilty to breaching
Section 2(1) of Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 and was fined £14,000
plus £1791.50 costs and a victim surcharge of £120.
Leanne Koo, Director of the company,
pleaded guilty to breaching Section 37 of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act
1974 and was fined £1,000 plus £387.50 costs and a victim surcharge of £120.
Roofing firm
fined after worker suffered life changing injuries
A roofing company has been prosecuted
after a roofer fell from a low roof and suffered life changing injuries.
Thirty seven year old Chris Jones from
Colwyn Bay, was employed by NRS Specialist Services (North Wales) Ltd to work
on re-covering the roof of a single story outhouse in Maes y Llan, Dwygyfylchi,
on 11 December 2013 when he fell nearly 2.5 metres to the ground.
Mr Jones broke his hip and his left leg
in six places and has not been able to return to work.
NRS Specialist Services (N. Wales) Ltd,
of Warren Road, Deganwy, pleaded guilty at Llandudno Magistrates Court to a
breach of Section 2 (1) of the Health & Safety at Work etc. Act 1974
and were fined £7,500 and ordered to pay £5725.22 in costs.
After the hearing, HSE inspector
Chris Wilson said:
“Chris Jones suffered major,
life-changing injuries and there was a real possibility that the fall could
have proved fatal.
“Falls from height are the biggest
cause of workplace deaths and it’s crucial that employers make sure work is
properly planned, appropriately supervised and that sufficient measures such as
edge protection are put in place to control the risks of harm from falls.
“Contractors must ensure that for
even relatively small-scale jobs where there is a risk of a fall from height
that adequate safeguards are in place. In this case this could have readily
been achieved by the use of temporary scaffold edge protection around the
perimeter of the roof”.
No comments:
Post a Comment