A property management company was issued with a Prohibition Notice to stop work after work to upgrade a factory roof exposed workers to asbestos.
Halifax Magistrates Court heard how up to 15 employees from two businesses and the occupants of the factory were working to upgrade the roof. The work included the stripping of materials from support beams which contained asbestos in limpet/spray form.
The Health and Safety Executive visited the factory after receiving a complaint from a local business which suspected the material contained asbestos fibres. A Prohibition Notice was served to MA Estates Limited, the owner and landlord of the factory, to stop work immediately.
The following HSE investigation found that MA Estates Ltd had failed to carry out a risk assessment or asbestos survey prior to work commencing. The company did not have a licence to remove asbestos and employees had not been given training or instruction on how to safely remove asbestos.
MA Estates Limited was fined £30,100 and ordered to pay costs of £2,475.40 after pleading guilty to seven charges under the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2006 and of breaching Section 3(1) of the Health & Safety at Work etc Act 1974.
