A company has been prosecuted for repeatedly breaching asbestos safety regulations.

Barroerock Construction Limited, of Langley House Park Road, East Finchley, London, who had pleaded guilty to two offences of breaching Regulation 22 (1) (a) of the Construction Design and Management Regulations 2007 at an earlier hearing, has been fined £750,000 with more than £14,874 in costs.

Canterbury Crown Court heard how the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) conducted two investigations into working practices of a building site in 2013 and 2014.

The company was carrying out flat conversion work on a former nine-storey office building in Ashford, Kent. The site was known to contain asbestos.

During a routine inspection on one of HSE's refurbishment campaigns, inspectors found that while a refurbishment and demolition (R&D) survey had been carried out, the company had failed to utilise it, resulting in up to 40 workers being exposed to asbestos during the early demolition phase of the project.

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The second investigation came around following complaints about the health and safety practices at the site. Despite engaging a licensed asbestos contractor to remove the remaining asbestos materials, it was found dangerous practices were still ongoing.

The company was also unable to provide documentation to show that asbestos materials identified in the survey had been correctly removed. Around 160 people were working inside the building when work was halted for the second time.

In both investigations, the HSE found these incidents could have been prevented if the contractor had made sure they had effective management controls in place to avoid the risk of exposure to asbestos.

HSE inspector Melvyn Stancliffe said: "The company's failings in this case has put many workers at risk to the exposure of asbestos.

"It was clear there was an endemic failure to effectively manage the construction work on the site in a way which ensured that asbestos materials were not disturbed until removed under appropriate conditions. Failing to prevent the breathing in of asbestos fibres on the site is reckless."

(LM/JP)