Dorset builder ignored asbestos risks

A self-employed builder has been fined for demolishing a building without first carrying out an asbestos survey.

Stuart Pearson, of Verwood, Dorset, was prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) at Guildford Magistrates' Court for breaching the Control of Asbestos Regulations between 20 April and 1 May 2011.

The court was told today (30 April) he had been employed to carry out the demolition of a house in Woking, Surrey, before groundworks were laid for a new property.

Mr Pearson was given a recent Asbestos Management Survey of one area of the house that had been carried out for the previous owner. The survey had been commissioned after a plumber had refused to repair the boiler due to the presence of asbestos.

The survey highlighted that there were 12 metres of asbestos in poor condition with two of three areas classified as 'high risk'. It went on to state: 'This material is in very poor condition and debris now exists around the boiler and the floor within the rest of the room. This room must not be accessed until a full environmental clean and removal of all asbestos-containing materials have been carried out by a licensed asbestos contractor.'

The report added that the removal had to be undertaken in controlled conditions with the use of 'enclosures, airlocks, negative pressure units and decontamination units.'

However, Mr Pearson went ahead and demolished the property without having a pre-demolition survey carried out on the entire property to ensure that all asbestos was identified and removed.

HSE began an investigation after a scientific officer from Woking Borough Council visited the site and raised concerns about possible asbestos contamination.

Mr Pearson, of Badger Way, Verwood, Dorset, pleaded guilty to a breach of Regulation 5 of the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2006. He was fined £5,000 and ordered to pay costs of £7,500.

After the hearing, HSE Inspector Russell Beckett, said:

"Before any demolition work is undertaken a survey must be carried out to identify any asbestos present and prevent exposure to anyone working on site and to those who subsequently process the waste. Any asbestos must be removed in the correct manner.

"Asbestos is the single greatest cause of work-related deaths in the UK and the dangers are well known in the construction and property industries.

"Asbestos is not an historical threat. It is current and it faces tradesmen all the time. This man has risked his own health and the health of others who were on the site."

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for circuits with rated voltages not exceeding 650V

Church fined after worker paralysed in fall

A church council in South Kensington has been prosecuted for safety failings after a self-employed joiner was left paralysed when he fell from the balcony of St Paul's church in Onslow Square.

The worker, who does not want to be identified, fell three metres from a poorly guarded balcony during refurbishment work at the site. Holy Trinity Brompton parish council - which has three churches under its auspices - was prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) after the incident on 3 March 2010.

Westminster Magistrates' Court was told (25 April) construction work on St Paul's balcony began early in 2009 to install an adjustable floor and hand rail so the area could be used in a stepped church seating style or a flat raised position for seminar use.

A high barrier was erected around the balcony to guard against falls from height, but was taken down after several months after claims it interfered with movement of materials around the site.

Instead a lower rail was installed which was just over a metre high when the floor was in stepped position and just 20cms above the level of the floor when adjusted to its raised position. A higher temporary barrier was to be erected whenever work was due at this raised higher level.

However, the court heard that during work to install the new handrail, the floor was raised but the temporary higher barrier had not been put in place. The self-employed joiner went to board over a hole left by a fixed rail upright close to the balcony edge. As he did so, he leaned on the rail but, without the upright support, the fixed barrier could not take his weight and he tipped over the edge and fell three metres to the floor.

His back was broken when he hit the floor and he suffered three broken ribs and a broken shoulder. He is now paralysed from the waist down.

After the hearing, Inspector Peter Collingwood said:

"This incident has had life-changing consequences for this man - and yet it could have been easily prevented.

"Simple higher edge protection that had been in place earlier in the project had been removed and a temporary extra barrier for use when the new floor was in raised position was not put in place.

"This incident shows how important it is for companies to ensure that effective edge protection exists to guard against any potential falls from height."

The Parochial Church Council of the Ecclesiastical Parish of Holy Trinity Brompton with St Paul Onslow Square (HTB) admitted breaching the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974. Following strong mitigation put forward by the defence counsel, the church council was fined £5,000 and ordered to pay full costs of £4,457.60

Construction firm fined for repeatedly ignoring safety warnings

A construction company has been fined for continuing unsafe working practices at a site in Upper Norwood, Croydon, after repeatedly ignoring safety warnings.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) identified multiple failings at a project on Sylvan Hill run by Unicorn Services Limited, where the Kent-based firm was building a four-storey block of flats.

Dangerous systems and procedures for working at height at Sylvan Hill

Westminster Magistrates' Court heard yesterday (25 April) that on 26 September 2011 a HSE inspector served eight Prohibition Notices to stop dangerous practices at the site after identifying serious safety breaches.

The Notices covered dangerous scaffolding, people working unsafely at height, fire-related hazards and dangerous electrical equipment.

Unicorn also supplied "appallingly inadequate" documentation for risk assessments and project management.

HSE returned to the construction site in October and discovered little or no improvement had been made to many of the illegal practices.

An Improvement Notice was subsequently served requiring the site manager to arrange adequate training in order to safely manage construction operations. However, the manager in question failed to meet a compliance date of late November.

Unicorn Services Limited, of Montpellier Avenue, Bexley, was found guilty of breaching Regulation 26(2) of the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2007 for its poor site management and failure to adhere to enforcement action. The company was fined £20,000 and was also ordered to pay £5,940 in costs.

After the hearing, HSE Inspector Andrew Verrall-Withers said:

Dangerous systems and procedures for working at height at Sylvan Hill

"Unicorn Services Limited blatantly ignored enforcement notices and continued to neglect its duty of care to its workforce, most of whom were vulnerable migrant workers.

"The construction site at Sylvan Hill was a potential death trap, with scant regard for safety or employee welfare. Even though there were no reported incidents at the site, serious safety breaches were routinely committed that could have resulted in death or serious injury.

"The work was underpinned by poor management and appallingly inadequate paperwork - total recklessness according to the court. General standards fell well below those expected of a competent principal contractor, which the Health and Safety Executive will simply not tolerate."

Recycling firm fined for subjecting workers to lead poisoning

An Edmonton-based recycling company has been fined for failing to protect employees working with lead.

Metal and Waste Recycling Ltd, of Albert Works, Kenninghall Rd, Edmonton had bought and was stripping some lead-sheathed copper cabling from British Telecom (BT) after the network began to be changed from copper to fibre optic cable.

An investigation carried out by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that between October 2008 and July 2009, more than 90 workers - most of whom were Romanian - were significantly exposed to lead as a result of this process.

HSE inspectors visited the site in April 2009 after an employee complained about insufficient protection when working with lead. During the site visit, HSE found nothing had been done to reduce lead exposure, with inadequate ventilation, face masks or respiratory equipment available.

It also found that although gloves were provided by the company, workers wore their own clothes, potentially spreading lead to other people and their own homes when they left work. Metal and Waste Recycling Ltd had not carried out blood tests or other health checks which are legally required when working with lead.

When HSE's appointed doctor carried out tests, 23 workers were found to have significantly high levels of lead in their blood. Of these, six people had symptoms of lead poisoning and were referred to St Thomas' Hospital poisons unit and two were put on chelation therapy by consultant toxicologists.

HSE Inspector Chris Tilley said:

"Lead exposure is a recognised cause of occupational ill health and its dangers are well known and documented. Working with lead requires adequate measures to either prevent or control exposure and appropriate monitoring of employees' blood lead levels.

"In this case there was an abysmal lack of care from the company. It failed to implement adequate control measures, carry out any health surveillance of their workers and provide adequate welfare facilities.

"The company fell far short of its legal duties and exposed its employees to an unacceptable level of risk which resulted in six people suffering lead poisoning and a further two workers needing hospital treatment."

At Westminster Magistrates' Court today, Metal and Waste Recycling Ltd pleaded guilty breaching the Control of Lead at Work Regulations 2002 between 1 November 2008 and 1 October 2009. The company was fined £49,500 and ordered to pay £25,483 in costs.

Packaging company fined after worker hit by lorry

The Corrugated Case Company Ltd has been fined after an employee was seriously injured by a heavy goods vehicle at its site on Pilsley Road in Danesmoor, Chesterfield.

Pete Newsum, 55, of Chesterfield was returning to site from neighbouring premises after his lunch break on 14 December 2010 when the incident happened. The site was particularly congested with vehicles due to recent bad weather, which had prevented deliveries and collections in the days prior to the incident.

As he approached the company's yard on foot, a heavy goods vehicle was manoeuvring to allow another vehicle to move. The man followed the kerb into the company site and waited for the HGV to reverse past him, down the yard. When the vehicle passed him, Mr Newsum stepped off the kerb and out in front of the vehicle, assuming it would continue going backwards. At the same time, the HGV stopped reversing and moved forwards, knocking the man to the ground and dragging him underneath the vehicle.

A member of the public passing on the main road noticed the high visibility jacket worn by the man beneath the lorry and alerted the lorry driver, who immediately stopped the vehicle.

Mr Newsum suffered damage to his lower spine, fractures to his pelvis, ribs and leg, a damaged shoulder and cuts to the head. He was resuscitated twice in hospital and currently suffers from post-traumatic epilepsy, breathing difficulties, and mobility difficulties. He is still unable to work and it is not yet known whether he will be able to return to his job as a fork lift truck driver.

Today, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) told North East Derbyshire magistrates that the company had failed to proactively risk assess and implement control measures for their workplace transport.

After the hearing HSE inspector Fiona Coffey said:

"On the day of the incident, the site was congested with unusually high levels of traffic yet there were no pedestrian crossing points, speed restrictions, mirrors or signage, or any other means of segregating pedestrians and vehicles.

"The company had been visited by HSE six months prior to the incident and had been given verbal instruction on how to better control workplace transport, which a Director and the Health and Safety Manager had agreed to. As a result of the company's failure to implement this guidance, their employee suffered painful and life-changing injuries.

"Vehicles at work continue to be a major cause of fatal and major injuries. Last year 27 workers were killed after being hit by a moving vehicle and more than 1,800 were seriously injured."

The Corrugated Case Company, of Pilsley Road, Danesmoor, Chesterfield, pleaded guilty to breaching Section 17(1) of the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992 and Regulation 3(1)(a) of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999. Today magistrates fined the company £8,000 and ordered it to pay costs of £7,435.

Wigan landlord sentenced over gas safety risk

A Wigan landlord has been prosecuted for putting the life of a tenant at risk by falsifying a gas safety document.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) took legal action against Terence McBride after it discovered he had changed the dates on the record for an annual gas safety check to suggest it was still valid.

Trafford Magistrates' Court in Sale heard his tenant contacted the authorities after suspecting a carbon monoxide leak at the house she rented on Bell Lane in Pemberton in May 2011. A National Grid engineer visited the property and sealed off the gas supply after finding a leak.

The court was told Mr McBride had arranged a gas safety check at the house through his letting agents in April 2009, which expired a year later. When he decided to hire a new agent in April 2011, he provided a copy of the gas safety document with the dates altered so that it appeared to still be current.

A tenant moved into the property on 3 May 2011, but it was three weeks before the gas leak was detected.

Terence McBride pleaded guilty to a breach of the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998 by failing to arrange an annual gas safety check.

Mr McBride, of Sawyer Drive in Ashton-in-Makerfield, received a community order requiring him to carry out 150 hours of unpaid work in the next 12 months. He was also ordered to pay £600 towards the cost of the prosecution at a hearing on 13 April 2012.

Speaking after the hearing, HSE Inspector Philip Strickland said:

"If Terence McBride's tenant hadn't contacted National Grid after suspecting a carbon monoxide leak then I dread to think what could have happened to her.

"It is a legal requirement on all landlords to have an annual gas safety check and Mr McBride put the life of his tenant at risk by failing to arrange for a registered gas engineer to visit the property for more than two years.

"This case should act as a warning to landlords that if they put their tenants' lives at risk by ignoring the law then we will take action against them."

Around 20 people die every year in the UK from carbon monoxide poisoning caused by unsafe gas appliances. Landlords are legally required to arrange an annual inspection of their properties by an engineer registered with the Gas Safe Register.

Paul Johnston, Chief Executive of the Gas Safe Register, added:

"Some landlords may think that failing to do an annual check on gas appliances, or not having a landlord's gas safety record, isn't that important or may save them some money.

"What they fail to realise is that these checks are legal requirements and are in place to save lives. If you are a landlord, make sure you stay on the right side of the law when it comes to gas and always use a Gas Safe registered engineer."

Homeowners and landlords can find a registered gas engineer, or check someone is registered, by visiting www.gassaferegister.co.uk .