Asbestos News
UK firm fined for exposing plumber to asbestos
A UK company that manages government housing has been fined £7,000 for allowing a plumber to be exposed to asbestos while on the job.The South Yorkshire Star reports that Rotherham 2010, a company established and run by Rotherham Council, allowed a plumber installing a shower room to be exposed to 50 times the legal limit of asbestos.
Rotherham Magistrates' Court was told that the company had performed an asbestos survey about two months before the work was carried out, and that survey showed that the carcinogenic material was present in the shower room area.
The news source reports that the company did not pass that information onto the sub-contractor, which employed the plumber. As a result of this lapse in communication, the plumber was exposed to asbestos without any protective equipment.
It is vital that asbestos is accounted for during renovation work as exposure to the deadly mineral fibers can cause malignant mesothelioma, asbestosis and lung cancer.
Such asbestos-related diseases kill about 107,000 people each year around the world, according to the World Health Organization.
1/13/11
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