McGrath Building & Joinery Contracts Ltd was fined by the Health and Safety Executive Northern Ireland (HSENI) for inadequate measures taken around the deadly material
The company pled guilty to a single health and safety offence related to the unsafe removal of asbestos.
The company was found guilty of breaching Regulation 12(1) of the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2016.
The company was fined £500
HSENI investigated the company’s refurbishment works at Sacred Heart Chapel, Boho, Co. Fermanagh, in November of 2023. They found that they had failed in their responsibilities as the principal contractor by not adequately planning, managing, or monitoring the works undertaken from a health and safety perspective.
This included failure to identify and safely removal licensed asbestos material.
HSENI construction inspector, Caoimhe O’Neill, said: “Principal Contractors have a duty to plan, manage and monitor the construction phase and coordinate matters relating to health and safety to ensure that, so far as reasonably practicable, construction work is carried out without risk to health or safety.
“When using subcontractors, Principal Contractors need to engage with competent contractors for the work task. Principal Contractors have a responsibility to ensure that subcontractors have developed a suitable and sufficient risk assessment and method statement (RAMS) and that they are managing and monitoring subcontractors throughout the construction phase.”
Asbestos is still a leading cause of death
In November last year, High Speed Training released research finding that many construction firms are not giving asbestos the required level of respect or concern, and in spite of it being banned 25 years ago, it is still a leading cause of work-related death.
The study found that:
- 26% of tradespeople who have encountered asbestos did not follow removal guidelines, with 26% saying their superiors told them to ignore the safe removal process
- 35% of tradespeople don’t think asbestos is hazardous
- 36% of those who aren’t concerned about asbestos said they view it as a problem of the past
- 46% of tradespeople believe the training they received about asbestos is insufficient
Dr Richard Anderson, head of learning and development at High Speed Training, said: “Whilst asbestos has been banned in the UK since 1999, it is still present in many buildings in the UK – with some reports3 stating it’s present in 1.5 million – and it can take as long as 30 years or more for symptoms of related diseases to appear, which really indicates the need for better awareness for tradespeople, their families, and the general public.
“Asbestos removal regulations are in place to make sure that the risk of exposure to harmful fibres is limited and it’s imperative that guidelines are followed, by a trained professional. It is never something that you should attempt to do yourself, whether you are a tradesperson or member of the general public. There can be serious risks to your health if asbestos is disturbed and fibres are released into the air.”
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