Man Fined by HSE over Potential Asbestos Exposure

A man has been fined by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) after he potentially exposed members of the public to asbestos.

Darlington Magistrate’s Court heard how Peter Wade was carrying out refurbish work on residential property on 14 March 2015. Mr Wade was converting a garage into a bedroom at the property on South Parade, Croft on Tees, County Durham. The court heard Mr Wade had been informed by the home owners, on a previous occasion, that there was the possibility of asbestos in the garage.

During the work the garage ceiling collapsed, resulting in Mr Wade ripping the rest of the structure down, putting the broken bits of ceiling in bags as he did so. However, once Mr Wade started to remove the debris from the bags he realised that it contained asbestos.

Following an investigation into the incident by the HSE, it was found that Mr Wade had not made sure that an asbestos survey of the property was undertaken before work began.

Peter Nigel Wade (trading as P.N. Wade Building and Civil Engineering contractor), of Winston Road, Staindrop, County Durham, pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 5(1) of the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012. Mr Wade was fined £267 and ordered to pay costs of £1,765.

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Source: Health & Safety Executive