September 12th, 2007

The Wear Valley District Council in the UK has been fined thousands of pounds after a complaint from a worker led to an investigation into asbestos regulation violations. The council was found guilty of six offenses of breaching the Control of Asbestos at Work regulations, and was fined eighteen thousand pounds (around thirty-six thousand dollars) plus nearly eight thousand pounds (around sixteen thousand dollars) in costs.

The regulatory body the Health and Safety Executive launched an investigations after a maintenance worker complained of asbestos presence in the plant room of the leisure centre, which is run by the council. He stated that the asbestos had been there for years, and this resulted in the case being investigated further by authorities.

One official from the Health and Safety Executive stated: "A survey had been carried out in 2001 which identified asbestos containing materials. This information was not acted upon and no-one who worked in the plant room was made aware. As a result, work that was liable to disturb the asbestos was done without the necessary precautions required by law to protect their health from exposure.

"This case should serve as a warning, not only to Local Authorities, but to everyone responsible for carrying out or contracting maintenance work on buildings where asbestos may be present."

He added: "With up to 4,000 deaths per year - that's around 15 times the current rate of fatal accidents at work - asbestos-related diseases are the largest occupational killers in the UK. There is still a legacy of asbestos in buildings that needs addressing. It is estimated that some half a million non-domestic premises contain asbestos of some type. And this means there are still workers putting themselves at risk every day. Recent studies estimate that a quarter of those dying from an asbestos-related disease worked as electricians, plumbers, maintenance workers or builders."