A Manchester-based construction company has been fined after workers were put at risk of exposure to asbestos.
A1 Property Maintenance Management Limited was acting as the principal contractor during work at the former Unicorn Public House on Liverpool Road, Eccles, Greater Manchester.
During a routine inspection to the site on 16 May 2022, a Health and Safety Executive (HSE) inspector discovered that 12 square metres of asbestos insulating board (AIB) had been present in a dumb waiter lift shaft – but had already been illegally removed by unknown individuals. This led to the inspector issuing a prohibition notice stopping all work on site until an asbestos survey had been completed.
Previously, after noticing the pub door had been broken into, a site worker had entered the building, where they discovered what appeared to be asbestos debris in the area around the lift shaft. The debris was later wrapped and removed by a licensed asbestos removal contractor.
However, A1 Property Maintenance Management Limited failed to carry out a full asbestos survey to confirm that all asbestos-containing materials had been removed before allowing further construction work to take place.