Asbestos Management Plan Failure

A hospital trust in the North East of England has been fined after contractors were exposed to asbestos fibres.

The contractors had drilled through door surrounds on a ward to install cables.  Concerns were raised by a member of staff the following day and it was confirmed that the door surrounds were made of asbestos insulating board.

The hospital had previously had an asbestos survey which identified the asbestos door surrounds, but in several site meetings between the trust and the contractors, no information was given to the contractors of any asbestos locations that may be present.

The hospital Trust was fined £3000 and ordered to pay £4582.40 in costs after breaching Regulation 4(9)(c)(i) of the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2006.

After the inquiry, HSE inspector Shuna Rank stated:

“This incident was entirely preventable and highlights the importance of having a robust asbestos management system in place. City Hospitals Sunderland had put considerable resources into identifying where asbestos was in the hospital buildings but failed to have efficient procedures in place to ensure the information was passed to the contractors.

“As a result workers drilled through the asbestos-containing material, potentially exposing themselves, hospital staff and members of the public to dangerous fibres.

“There need to be systems in place to ensure that all workers are aware of where asbestos is if their work is likely to bring them into contact with asbestos-containing materials.”

This just goes to show that having an asbestos survey is not necessarily enough and highlights the importance of having a structured asbestos management plan in place too.

Don’t delay, contact Crucial Environmental Ltd. today to carry out your asbestos survey and build an asbestos management plan for you.

Call us now on 01903 297818 to book your asbestos survey or to discuss your asbestos management plan.