A construction site supervisor has been fined more than £6,500 after exposing pupils and staff at a Bristol primary school to asbestos during renovation works.
He was supervising the refurbishment of kitchen facilities at a Catholic Primary School when he cut through asbestos insulating board using a circular saw. The incident occurred on 13 May 2023 and led to asbestos fibres being released into the school hall, which remained in use by pupils and staff for two days following the contamination.
An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) revealed that he had ignored clear instructions and failed to act in accordance with his asbestos awareness training. The wall he disturbed had been identified in a survey as a potential asbestos risk and was due to be assessed by a licensed asbestos contractor prior to any removal work.
Wholly unacceptable exposure to asbestos fibres occurred as a result of an individual employee not following instructions and procedures designed to prevent such occurrences
He pleaded guilty to breaching section 7(a) of the Health and Safety at Work Act. Last month, Bristol Magistrates’ Court fined him £1,800 and ordered him to pay a £720 victim surcharge and £4,000 in prosecution costs – bringing the total penalty to £6,520.
Every year around 5,000 people die from asbestos-related diseases, which often take decades to present symptoms. HSE inspector Ian Whittles said that in this case, ‘wholly unacceptable exposure to asbestos fibres occurred as a result of an individual employee not following instructions and procedures designed to prevent such occurrences.
Source – IOSH
