Edinburgh Council fined £14,000 for employee asbestos exposure

Joiners working for Castlebrae Community High School in Edinburgh were exposed to asbestos leading to a £14,000 fine for Edinburgh Council.

Two doors were removed from the school's physics room and taken to a Council joinery workshop where they were modified to have viewing panels put in them. The holes were cut out using saws which created a large amount of white dust. The two people involved in doing the work did not wear masks initially, and later opened an exterior door to let the white dust out. That dust turned out to be asbestos.

In total, ten employees came into contact with the dust. Health and safety officials investigated and later had the workshop decontaminated. They also found the school did not have adequate information regarding materials used in its construction. No one thought to check the Asbestos Register either.

HSE inspector Mike Orr commented:

"The risks from asbestos are well known and it is imperative that precautions to manage those risks are put in place.

City of Edinburgh Council should have been well aware of its responsibilities. Its failings are clear.

As this case demonstrates, those most likely to be at risk from asbestos are tradesmen. Every week, 20 tradesmen die from asbestos-related diseases, including mesothelioma - an incurable cancer."

In court, City of Edinburgh Council pleaded guilty to four charges including:

- failing to make a risk assessment prior to carrying out work
- failing to prepare a written plan
- breaching a duty to manage asbestos in non-domestic premises
- failing to take measures to prevent employees being exposed to the substance

Sheriff Isabella McColl also pointed out that the fine would have been much higher for a non-public body.

Source: STV