Asbestos exposure leads to fine

A building contractor from County Durham has been fined for potentially exposing members of the public to asbestos fibres during the refurbishment of a residential property.
The contractor was converting an integrated garage into a bedroom at the property when the garage ceiling collapsed and he proceeded to pull the remainder of the ceiling down, break it up and place in waste bags.
It was not until he removed the material that he discovered it contained asbestos, although the home owners had mentioned the possibility of the presence of asbestos at the time that he visited the property to the purpose of a quote some time earlier.
An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) into the incident found that the contractor failed to ensure an asbestos survey was carried out prior to any work taking place, and as a result pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 5(1) of the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012, and was fined £267 and ordered to pay costs of £1,765.