A recent article publish on the Risk Management Services blog reported that a Scottish health authority has been fined £6,000 for failing to clear asbestos from the Royal Hospital for Sick Children at Yorkhill in Glasgow.
The health authority potentially exposed several workers to the asbestos fibres due to the failed management of the risks of asbestos in a basement plant room of the hospital.
On the 20th of June, Glasgow Sheriff Court heard that Greater Glasgow Health Board has failed to properly manage the risks of asbestos in a basement plant room of the hospital. It was also revealed that the survey which was carried out in February of 2009 identified the presence of asbestos containing materials (ACMs) in a number of places within the plant room, however, it said that they the asbestos containing materials was in a good condition and low risk.
The survey also recommended the ACMs should be labelled and their condition observed to ensure any future deterioration could be managed.
An additional survey was carried out within the plant room in January 2011, this survey was carried out prior the installation of a new MRI scanner at the hospital and it discovered that some of the ACMS were now in a poor condition and posed a high risk.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) were informed of the issue after air and swab samples for asbestos fibres came back positive, the plant room was then sealed off.
An investigation carried out by the HSE found that the health board had taken no action since the 2009 survey to monitor ACMs within the plant room, while no labelling of the ACMs had taken place in the two years following the initial survey.
The Court was also informed that employees of the health board and outside contractors regularly had to access the plant room and could have potentially been exposed to the harmful asbestos fibres when carrying out maintenance work.
After pleading guilty to a breach of Regulation 4(10) of the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2006, Greater Glasgow Health Board was fined £6,000.
HSE Inspector, Eve Macready, spoke following the case:
“The dangers posed by the presence of asbestos are clear. There is no known ‘safe limit’ and it is often many years after exposure before asbestos-related diseases appear – so it is important exposure to asbestos fibres is kept to an absolute minimum.
“Glasgow Health Board failed in its duty to properly manage the risks of asbestos in its premises and as a result a number of employees and external contractors have potentially been exposed to harmful fibres.”
References:
Derisk – Risk Management Services
Work Place Law
Health and Safety Executive
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