An Asbestos Insulating Board ceiling was removed in an uncontrolled manner by a contractor, putting employees, subcontractors and homeowners at risk of asbestos exposure.

D B Construction (West Wilts) Ltd of Bradford-on-Avon admitted breaching r.5 of the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2006 in connection with the work and was fined £7,000 with £3,617 costs.

The unsafe work was conducted during refurbishment of a house in Bradford-on-Avon during November and December 2010.

The company failed to investigate whether asbestos was present in the building before work started.  Employees and sub contractors failed to identify the material and broke up the boards, releasing airborne asbestos fibres.

*article taken from SafetyNews website*