My friends at Thompsons have been helping people who have asbestos related diseases for many years.  Many people think that asbestos exposure is an old problem as there are many rules and regulations in place to ensure that workers and members of the public are not exposed to such dangerous substances.   Unfortunately that is not the case and I was shocked to see that a tradesman and a 17 year –old trainee employed by outside contractors were installing CCTV cameras at the Recreation Centre at Aston University last July when they drilled into material containing asbestos.

At a court hearing, it was discovered that the university failed to follow its own procedures on managing, planning and preparing for the installation of the CCTV. 

The university admitted to 2 charges of breaching health and safety regulations and was fined £4,000.

The CCTV contractor also admitted an offence under the control of asbestos regulations and received a fine of £1,000.

The Health and Safety Executive stated that “while the amount of asbestos involved in this incident was small, two people now have to live with the knowledge that they may become ill from lung disease in the future”.