Asbestos News
UK health authority fines council for asbestos violations
A municipal authority in the UK was recently fined by the Health and Safety Executive, Britain's federal health agency, for asbestos violations at a city building.The violations were discovered at the facility in 2009 and resulted in a fine of £30,000 for the Nottingham City Council. According to a press release from the HSE, the asbestos debris, which was spotted by a contractor at the building, resulted in 150 people potentially being exposed to the carcinogenic material.
Such exposure is serious, as asbestos can cause malignant mesothelioma, asbestosis and lung cancer, among other illnesses.
When the council purchased the building in 2005, it performed asbestos abatement. However, it understood that not all of the substance could be removed and was given a plan to manage the asbestos by a specialist firm. According to the HSE, the council failed to follow this plan.
"The latest health and safety statistics show that more people are dying as a result of asbestos-related diseases than are killed in accidents at work," HSE principal inspector Frank Lomas said. "This situation will not change unless organizations take their duty to manage asbestos seriously."
3/1/11
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