The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) told Chippenham Magistrates’ Court that D B Construction (West Wilts) Ltd carried out unsafe work while refurbishing a house in Bradford-on-Avon between 29 November and 10 December 2010.

An AIB ceiling was removed in an uncontrolled manner, which put employees, subcontractors and the homeowners and their young children at risk of asbestos exposure.

The court heard an electrician on site raised concerns the ceiling boards being removed from could contain asbestos and he arranged for the material to be analysed before beginning work.

An analyst visited the site and advised work should cease until the contaminated area had been cleaned of asbestos debris. HSE later confirmed the ceiling boards contained both white and the more hazardous brown asbestos.

HSE found that DB Construction had failed to investigate whether asbestos was present in the building before work started and when removing the ceiling boards its employees and sub contractors failed to identify the material and broke up the boards releasing airborne asbestos fibres. The boards and debris were then removed in open bags and left in the garden in a breach of safety rules.

HSE inspector, Helena Tinton said after the prosecution:

“Asbestos widely known to be a hazardous material and asbestos fibre exposure is linked to a number of serious diseases, including cancer and scarring of the lungs. As such, work with materials containing higher risk asbestos, including asbestos insulation board, is a licensed activity with work only carried out by trained people under tightly controlled conditions.

“As a building contractor engaged in refurbishment work, D B Construction should have been aware of this and yet these ceiling boards were removed in an uncontrolled manner over a period of several hours, which resulted in the spread of airborne asbestos fibres inside and outside the property, leaving workers and the family at risk of exposure.”

Emma and Simon Turpin, have four children and keep a number of animals on their farm, as they returned home on Wednesday they were shocked to find dangerous, toxic rubbish dumped in the lane leading to their house.

31 year old Emma said:

“My husband and our friend were trying to move the rubbish but then we found out it’s asbestos. I’m so worried; this is all just a nightmare.”

“We had to try and move it because it blocked us in our house and trapped me and my family. If anything happened to the kids or animals we wouldn’t have been able to get out.”

They variety of animals they keep on the farm include, 10 horses, chickens, dogs and cats.

Simon, aged 36 said:

“Our driveway is half a mile off the road to the house.”

“They’ve dumped it in the gateway and blocked the lane completely. We can’t get in or out.”

The couple have said that they believe two men in a white transit van with mesh on the back reversed into the lane that leads to their house and waited till dark before they dumped the waste, the waste consisted of rubble, fridge freezers and office chairs.

asbestos industry news

An all-party group is calling for a scheme to remove the material after studying estimates which suggest it was present in more than 75% of schools.

More than 140 teachers have died from the rare asbestos-related cancer mesothelioma in the past 10 years.

Education chiefs say it is unacceptable for schools to ignore guidance but that undamaged asbestos should be left.

Last year, the Department for Education (DfE) revealed that its “best estimate” was that more than three-quarters of schools contain asbestos.

The Parliamentary Group on Occupational Safety and Health’s chairman, Jim Sheridan, said: “This is a national scandal.

“Urgent action is needed to prevent more pupils, teachers and other staff being exposed to this deadly killer dust.

“We need both far greater awareness of the risks that this material poses and a programme for its phased removal.”

Dangerous fibres

The group’s other recommendations include annually updating parents, teachers and staff about asbestos in their schools, and reinstating inspections into asbestos management.

Asbestos was used extensively as a building material from the 1950s until the mid-1980s, often in fireproofing and insulation.

But it becomes dangerous when disturbed. If inhaled, its fibres cause lung complaints such as the fatal mesothelioma and debilitating asbestosis.

Researchers in the US found that for every death of a teacher from asbestos-related diseases, nine children will die.

Children are more vulnerable because they have longer than adults to develop diseases related to the material.

According to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), inhaling asbestos is the single greatest cause of work-related deaths in the UK – accounting for 4,000 deaths per year.

A DfE spokesman said the welfare of pupils and staff was paramount.

“It is unacceptable for any school not to comply with the strict statutory asbestos guidance – no ifs or buts,” he said.

But he added: “HSE’s expert advice is based on the best current evidence.

“It is absolutely clear that if asbestos is not disturbed or damaged, then it is safer to leave it in situ, with strong systems in place to contain and monitor it.”

http://www.jimsheridanmp.org.uk/asbestosinschoolsreport.pdf

This is something that Greg Byrne Senior Partner has been highlighting for a number of years.

Reader comments would be welcome.

“Most people don’t realize that Steve McQueen, one of the greatest icons of American culture, died of mesothelioma,” said Russell Budd, “This horrible cancer can strike anyone and it doesn’t discriminate. We are glad to support ADAO as they honor an American legend like Steve McQueen for his battle against mesothelioma. We hope that this will help raise awareness about the dangers of asbestos exposure.”

Dallas Business Wire 17 Jan 2012

For video footage go to BBC News http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/8563554.stm

Presenting the findings of new research published in the British Journal of Cancer to the HSE board last week, Dr Lesley Rushton said even modest intervention by the HSE, involving a light reduction in exposure limits, could prevent more than 2000 cancers by 2060.

Pointing out that the research is not new evidence but about established and probable risks, Dr Rushton said the percentage of cancers attributable to occupational carcinogens is 5.3 per cent, which translates to approximately 8000 fatalities a year and around 13,500 new cases a year.

While work exposure is not as big a causative factor as smoking and diet, the study reports that the total number of cancer cases attributable to occupational exposure is estimated as 11,494 (7832 in men and 3662 in women), representing 3.7 per cent of all cancers (excluding non-melanoma skin cancers). Significantly, more men develop cancer from work exposure than alcohol consumption.

The main occupational causes of lung cancer are asbestos, as well as silica, diesel-engine exhausts and mineral oils, while shift work is cited as a major occupational cause of breast cancer among women. Dr Rushton added that there are 16 carcinogens associated with construction, and 14 agents account for 85.7 per cent of current cancers attributed to the workplace.

Following the presentation, HSE board member Hugh Robertson said the research confirmed the need to take action, adding: “It’s about changing behaviour – ensuring that all those ‘under the arches’ workplaces improve compliance.”

HSE chair Judith Hackitt said further research is needed to help the regulator determine what it needs to do to shape its intervention strategy for the next three to five years.

Following the publication of the study, there were calls for a greater focus on occupational exposure to carcinogens from several stakeholders. Welcoming the research, the British Occupational Hygiene Society said: “All of these (work-related) cancers could have been prevented through better recognition of the risks within occupations, and BOHS believes that with appropriate focused efforts almost all occupational cancers could ultimately be prevented.

“This goal would take time to achieve because there is a very long lag between workers first being exposed to carcinogens and any disease being diagnosed, but if we do not act now then the present death toll will continue.”

The Scottish Hazards Campaign asked: “If the percentage of causes attributable to work is greater than that percentage attributable to alcohol [in men], then why are there no concrete measures to address work-related causes of cancer?”