A council has been fined after failing to warn an employee of an
asbestos
danger when he was sent to fix a water leak at a housing
complex.
Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council was ordered to pay £5,000
and £2,140 in costs after pleading guilty to a breach of Regulation
4(9)(c) and Regulation 11(1) of the Control of Asbestos Regulations
2006 at Nuneaton Magistrates Court.
The Health and
Safety Executive (HSE) prosecuted the local authority after it
sent a plumber to fix a faulty pipe in a ceiling void on the first
floor of the building which had been found to have asbestos in a
recent survey.
As the worker had not been told he was working on a site
containing asbestos, he used a hand saw to cut part of the asbestos
insulation board (AIB) ceiling sheet to gain access to the leaking
pipe and wore no protective clothing.