A school in Essex has been fined after school staff and others were exposed to asbestos during poorly managed and planned maintenance and refurbishment activities. Last week, Chelmsford Crown Court head how managers at The Boswells School in Chelmsford were in the process of converting an old boiler room at the school into a cleaning store. While this work was being carried out, asbestos residue on the room walls was disturbed and caretakers swept the contaminated debris from the floors. The poorly managed work was only exposed after an asbestos survey was carried out in the area. The Health & Safety Executive (HSE) investigated the incident and also found materials containing asbestos in other areas. For many years school caretaking staff and contractors disturbed the school buildings’ fabric without knowing about the presence of asbestos, while the school also failed to make sure that the spread of asbestos was reduced or prevented. Anyone who entered the potentially contaminated areas was put at risk of developing serious health problems due to the exposure to airborne respirable asbestos fibres. The Boswells Academy Trust, of Burnham Road, Chelmsford, Essex, pleaded guilty to a breach of Sections 2 (1) and 3 (1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, resulting in the trust being fined £26,000 and made to pay £20,000 in costs. Glyn Davies, HSE inspector said that the trust should have identified the type, condition and location of any materials containing asbestos throughout the school to ensure that the potentially lethal risk was controlled. Davies added: “It should then have ensured that such information was shared with anyone liable to disturb this fabric. It may also have arranged for a licensed asbestos contractor to remove any dangerous asbestos safely before commencement of any work.” He also commented that this prosecution should be seen as an example to others about planning work more thoroughly in future.

A plumber from Torbay and the company who contracted him have been prosecuted after it was found that they had left their work in a dangerous condition at a Torquay home. Exeter Crown Court heard that the illegal gas fitter, Mark Baker, who was also an unregistered plumber, was contracted by Marc Robertson, who is the Director of 1st Maintenance, to fit a gas boiler at a Coker Avenue property where the firm was carrying out home improvement work. After the installation of the gas boiler at the property, Mr Baker told the homeowner that he had commissioned the boiler but failed to register the gas boiler with the Local Authority and issued no paperwork, both of which are required by law. Once installed, the homeowner complained about several problems with the gas boiler and things came to a head when a fully qualified gas engineer visited the property on another matter. When at the property, the properly qualified engineer raised concerns about the installation of the gas boiler and as a result the homeowner contacted the Gas Safe Register. An inspector from the Gas Safe Register came across a number of major faults with the work that Mr Baker had carried out and listed the boiler as being in the ‘At Risk’ category, which means it could pose a potential threat to life. Mr Baker, of Daison Crescent, Torquay, pleaded guilty to two gas safety regulation breaches and was sentenced to eight months in prison, suspended for 18 months, and was also ordered to carry out 200 hours of unpaid work, along with over £4,000 in costs. Meanwhile, 1st Maintenance Ltd, of Grange Road, Allacombe, Torquay, also pleaded guilty to one breach of the gas safety regulations and was fined £6,000, along with £640 in costs. Simon Jones, HSE inspector, said: “Mr Baker put lives at risk by undertaking gaswork which he was neither qualified nor registered to undertake, work which put the homeowner’s life at risk.”

The new president of the Association of Plumbing and Heating Contractors (APHC) has focussed on lobbying activities and building regulations in his first speech. In his inaugural address as APHC national president, Brian Silvester discussed the two key activities that he believes will improve trade conditions for the quality heating and plumbing contractor. Silvester commented: “Over the next year I would like to promote and support the lobbying work that we are engaged in; which I am quite passionate about, and personally believe will bring about much needed change for the betterment of our industry.” Speaking at last Saturday’s annual APHC President’s Dinner, Silvester started his speech by discussing the independent research which is currently being carried out into the lack of enforcement of Building Regulations in the heating and plumbing industry. The new APHC boss also spoke about how the research hopes to both qualify the experiences of heating and plumbing contractors  in this area around on site workmanship standards and the issues they face when applying regulations and competing for work and quantify levels of enforcement activity taking place with relation to Building Regulations work. Silvester emphasised that the principal aim of the research is to quantify the implications of the existing enforcement strategies on the heating and plumbing industry and he explained that the findings, which are set to be publicised by the APHC next month, will form the basis of new solutions in the industry which will be presented later in the year to the government. He added that the group will aim to lobby the government for the much needed regulatory change in this area, along with fellow industry bodies. The new president also touched on the work of APHC in collaboration with several partners in the industry and bigger gas contracting firms, in refining the ACS gas reassessment requirements.

The UK’s move to set a target to limit the amount of carbon dioxide emissions now faces a challenge after the country’s decision to leave the European Union. Earlier in the week the UK agreed to set a legally binding aim of cutting the country’s carbon dioxide emissions to help with the climate change prevention effort. However, a think tank led by Nigel Lawson, the former Tory Chancellor and strategy committee member of the Leave campaign, has dismissed the move as “unlawful”, which is indicative of the uncertainty triggered by the Brexit vote. The Global Warming Policy Foundation fronted by Lord Lawson said the government was wrong to make a fifth ‘carbon budget’ a legally binding agreement that would see the UK commit to reducing emissions by 57% by 2032 compared with the levels of 1990. The foundation said that the target was based on the false assumption that the country will still be in the EU in 2030. Furthermore, they said that it also assumed that the UK would stay part of the EU emissions trading scheme, the biggest carbon market in the world, and would be “covered by the terms of the EU Paris agreement.” Collectively, the EU has agreed to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 40% by 2030 as part of December’s Paris agreement. In a statement the foundation explained that it believes the government has behaved unreasonably and should have delayed the approval of the budget as well as reassessing the potential impact of a vote to leave the European Union. They said that the government had “hastily rubber stamped” a budget that was only designed to work in one set of circumstances and as such it is “unlawful” and something that the incoming Prime Minister should review as a priority. The UK’s 2008 Climate Change Act means that the government must set a budget every five years for the amount of CO2 that is to be emitted.

A UK fish processing company has been fined £500,000 after a 22 year old employee was killed by falling boxes. Interfish Limited, a Plymouth based firm, was found guilty of negligence after Tomas Suchy was clearing up a fallen stack of frozen fish boxes in one of the company’s cold store areas when a further fall of stock hit him. The injuries he sustained were severe and multiple, and ultimately proved fatal. The Health and Safety Executive carried out an investigation into the incident, which occurred on October 18, 2013, and found that there were no safe working systems or instructions for staff on how the pallets should be correctly stored. When the incident occurred it was discovered that there was no procedure in place from the company for falling stock. Based in Plymouth’s Wallsend Industrial Estate in the Cattedown Wharves, Interfish Limited submitted a guilty plea to a breach of Section 2 (1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974. The firm stood trial at Plymouth Crown Court earlier in the week and was fined £500,000 and ordered to pay £24,800 in costs. Emma O’Hara, HSE inspector, commented following the hearing that the safe stacking of stock is a necessity throughout all industries, though it is often overlooked when companies are implementing safe work systems. She added that duty holders must ensure that stock is stacked safely and that plans are in place to deal with any unforeseen circumstances like stock suddenly falling as we have seen in this tragic case. In 2014/15, 142 workers were fatally injured in the UK, which equates to 0.46 worker deaths per 100,000 workers. This figure is a reduction of 9% on the previous five year average (156), while the last 20 year period has seen a steady decline in fatal injury rates, although this trend is becoming less clear.

Groundforce managing director Simon Littlewood has left the company to join competitor MGF. Simon Littlewood spent nearly 20 years with Vp Group, and had been in charge of its excavation shoring division, Groundforce, since 2008. He joins MGF as director and managing director designate. Manchester-based MGF manufactures, hires and sells fully engineered excavation shoring systems, confined space entry equipment and pipe stoppers. “I’m delighted to be joining MGF Ltd at an exciting time for the business,” Mr Littlewood said. “It’s reputation in the UK excavation support systems market is very strong, underpinned by an excellent team of people, versatile product portfolio and a growing network of depots. The business is now planning for further growth in its geographical coverage along with expansion of its specialist product range.” Current managing director Gerald Nowicki said: “Simon has a wealth of experience in our sector and his skills and abilities will be invaluable to us as we take our business to the next stage of its growth. Simon was the outstanding candidate to succeed me and our chairman Michael O’Hara and, along with the team at MGF, we are delighted to have him on board.”