A specialist asbestos removal company from Paisley has been fined after it exposed workers to dangerous asbestos fibres during the demolition of a former school building in Lincoln.
Newly diagnosed victims of mesothelioma – the aggressive and fatal cancer caused by asbestos – are to receive help for the first time through a new support scheme, as part of a bill currently going through Parliament.
A Scottish health board has been fined for safety failings that led to several workers and contractors being potentially exposed to deadly asbestos fibres.
Proposed new rules on how old insurance records are searched are a “missed opportunity” to ensure the industry honours its responsibility to sick and dying workers.
Two men colluded with each other to commit fraud by falsifying a record stating that a school in Abingdon had been properly cleaned of asbestos.
The "unusual fraud" was confirmed by detective work by one of the men’s employers using GPS tracking technology on the employee’s company van, which proved he had not attended the school when he claimed he had.
The deception by the two men was uncovered after an engineer went to the school to start plumbing work but could see that asbestos material had been left, putting him and others at risk of exposure to dangerous fibres.
He reported it to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), which investigated and brought a prosecution against both men.
After the hearing, HSE Inspector Andrew Moore said:
"HSE takes exposure to asbestos very seriously. Currently 4,000 people die every year from asbestos-related disease and the onset of these debilitating diseases can occur many years after exposure. That is why there are clear rules and regulations governing its removal and site decontamination, and that is why HSE will prosecute those who flout the legislation."
