15 tradesmen exposed to asbestos fibers for over two months

UK: Tradesmen exposed to asbestos fibers

Kirkcaldy, Scotland, UK - A company and its director have received fines totaling £35,000 for the exposure of 15 workers to deadly asbestos fibers.

Edward Dean Melville, the director of Dean Entertainments, was fined £7,000 after pleading guilty to violating the Health and Safety at Work Act. The company received a £28,000 fine for the same violation.

The 15 tradesmen involved were exposed to asbestos while renovating a Dunfermline nightclub in 2005. It was reported that they had been breathing in asbestos-contaminated air for over two months while working on the former Ballroom nightclub.

A spokesman for the Health and Safety Executive said that despite the voiced concerns by the workers about asbestos possibly present in the building, they were told to continue working. It wasn't until one of the tradesmen contacted the HSE which then got involved that the project came to a halt.

The HSE said the incident was very serious because Dean Entertainments endangered the lives of many tradesmen. The company was responsible for exposing them to asbestos fibers, known to cause fatal diseases, over an extended period of time.

Mr. Melville had argued in court that the building contained asbestos but was never able to show evidence to support his claim. The HSE spokesman said Mr. Melville had also hired a contractor who didn't have an asbestos removal license to haul away a large amount of material from the building. The waste was later identified as asbestos-contaminated materials.

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