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Workers exposed to asbestos fibres for five years at Rochdale re-upholstery firm

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CEL 712
Microdust Pro
From Casella

A Rochdale-based firm has been fined along with their company director after workers were exposed to the dangerous material for five years.
 
Mansfield Soft Furnishings Ltd and David Mansfield were prosecuted after allowing up to 30 employees to be exposed to airborne asbestos fibres.
The Crown Court in Manchester was told that the company had moved into Meadowcroft Mill in 2007 and created a mezzanine storage area in the eaves of the roof.
 
Within this storage space was foam for furniture, which was often placed in on the beams and underside of the roof by workers. However, it emerged that this was where the asbestos also lay and as employees hauled the foam through the eaves, laying it on the floor, fine layers of the deadly material dusts were discharged into the air.
 
Despite workers raising concerns about asbestos fibres, the company failed to arrange for a survey to be carried out.
 
An HSE inspector visited the company in 2012 in a separate incident and noticed the roof of the mezzanine posed a danger. The company were handed an Improvement Notice after it was discovered that Mansfield Soft Furnishings Ltd failed to carry out any surveys. A survey was carried out in the event of this which revealed the presence of asbestos.
 
The company was served with a Prohibition Notice on 10 July 2012 which banned access to the building until it was decontaminated. This was breached when Mr Mansfield and an employee entered the premises to remove furniture to be delivered to a client.
This also breached the terms of the Prohibition Notice.
 
David Mansfield was fined £10,000 for this breach, where the co-defendants were ordered to pay £20,000 in joint costs.
Not only did the company violate safety regulations, they endangered the lives of their employees.
 
HSE Inspector David Norton said: “Workers at Mansfield Soft Furnishings will have to live the rest of their lives knowing they’re at risk of contracting a deadly lung disease because of the actions of their employer.”
 
If asbestos fibres are disturbed or inhaled then a person is at risk of contracting a range of potentially fatal illnesses including Mesothelioma.
The HSE report that around 4,000 people die every year as a result of breathing in asbestos fibres. This is the biggest cause of work-related deaths in the UK.
 
Actions such as asbestos surveys and the use of PPE can help to minimise the exposure to the deadly fibres. A wide range of personal protective equipment can be found at www.frontline-safety.co.uk, including dust and air monitoring, face masks and filters.
 
Posted by Shona Innes