A building owner and a project manager tried to remove
asbestos at one tenth of the cost during a refurbishment job by
hiring a general builder rather than a specialist
contractor.
Both firms and the hapless builder have been hit with fines
after the building in Birmingham was found to be riddled with
deadly asbestos fibres after a vacuum was used to try and remove
them.
Health and Safety Executive inspectors uncovered a series of
failings during the refurbishment of 114-116 Colmore Row.
Birmingham Magistrates' Court heard how building owners Evanacre
Colmore Row Ltd and project managers Marchment Consulting hired
builder Roland Morewood to carry out work over the weekend of 29
January 2010.
When lift engineers arrived, they found pieces of asbestos
insulating board spread around the lift shaft area and refused to
carry on working.
HSE inspectors stopped all workers from going into the building
until it had been decontaminated.
Air tests taken on several floors of the premises revealed
significantly high levels of asbestos fibres, which were also found
in several vacuum cleaners.
Asbestos insulating board was found stored in Morewood's van,
which itself was heavily contaminated with asbestos fibres in the
air. By law it should have been disposed of by a licensed
contractor.
Speaking after the hearing, HSE principal inspector Richard
Lockwood said: "Evanacre Colmore Row had an asbestos survey
which clearly showed that asbestos was present in the lift.
"Marchment Consulting, which has expertise in building work,
should have known how to deal with asbestos and materials
containing its fibres in refurbishment projects.
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