Dust monitoring failures see council fined for negligence

Apex Asbestos Sampling Kit
from Casella

Thurrock Council was fined for failures related to handling asbestos in its school buildings.
 
Dust monitoring procedures are important in any construction work to help limit the risk of asbestos poisoning, but such activities are particularly important when dealing with school buildings.
 
One council was recently fined for failing to acknowledge this fact after admitting to failures in how it managed asbestos across its educational institutes.
 
Thurrock Council had been made aware of asbestos concerns in Stifford Clays Junior School after a specialist contractor carried out an asbestos survey in 2004, Basildon Crown Court heard earlier this month (March 1st).
 
The report suggested the immediate removal of dust and debris from the premises, but a Health and Safety Executive (HSE) inspection six years later found that the work had not been carried out.
 
The Apex Asbestos Sampling Kit from Casella is an example of a product which could be used to tackle the issue of asbestos removal.  This can be found on the Frontline Safety website, along with a range of dust monitoring equipment and breathing apparatus, such as a facemasks and filters.
 
Casella have also launched their brand new CEL-712 Microdust Pro - ideal for the real-time detection of airborne dusts, fumes and aerosols.  This product would also be suitable in applications including asbestos removal.
 
A prohibition notice was served in April 2010 barring entry to the room until it was made safe, while a further two improvement notices regarding asbestos were issued in other county schools.
 
As a result of its admission breaching the Control of Asbestos Regulations (CAR 2006) and the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999, Thurrock Council was fined £35,000 and told to pay £15,326 in costs.
 

CEL 712
Microdust Pro
From Casella

HSE inspector Samantha Thomson explained that the case was an example of a local authority failing to manage the danger over a number of years.
 
"At Stifford Clays Junior School, the caretaker regularly worked in the boiler room with dust and debris over a period of six years," the expert said.
 
"She will have been exposed to asbestos fibres and now faces an anxious wait to see if it results in any long-term health issues."
 
Despite the fact that this was easily preventable, the local authority failed to act for a number or years, Ms Thomson concluded.
 
Meanwhile, the HSE revealed last month that Middlesex building owner Nasimul Karbani was prosecuted for exposing untrained workers to potentially-deadly asbestos fibres.
 
Written by Chris Malone