Belfast company fined for unsafe asbestos removal

Belfast-based Brookfield Business Centre Ltd has been fined £3,000 and required to pay £722 costs at Belfast Magistrates Court following a prosecution taken by Belfast City Council health and safety officers.

The company pleaded guilty to a breach of the Health and Safety at Work (NI) Order 1978 after failing to take appropriate measures to protect health and safety during the removal of asbestos lagging at the premises in January 2000.

The case was taken after officers investigated a complaint regarding asbestos dust in a common staircase on the premises. Evidence was gathered to show that pipe-work lagging containing amosite asbestos was removed in an uncontrolled manner, without any precautions being taken to prevent exposure to asbestos fibres.

This happened despite employee concerns regarding the potential for this material to contain asbestos, having been brought to the company’s attention on a previous occasion. Once the health and safety officers began their investigation, a licensed contractor had to be brought in to complete the work and decontaminate the area.

A spokesperson for Belfast City Council said: “This case should be seen as a reminder to all business operators that the removal of asbestos material from buildings should only be carried out under controlled conditions and in most cases by a contractor specifically licensed by the Health and Safety Executive for Northern Ireland (HSENI) to carry out this work.

"Proposed legislation in the near future will require business operators to survey their buildings to identify the location of any asbestos material so that it can be taken account of in any future maintenance work."

The Health and Safety at Work (NI) Order 1978 places duties on employers to run their business in such a way as to ensure that both their employees and members of the public are not exposed to risks to their health and safety. (MB)