Acetech fined over asbestos threat
19/08/2010
A marine reclamation company has been fined £3,400 for putting employees at risk of exposure to asbestos while they were stripping down a boat to sell on as scrap metal.
North Lincolnshire-based Acetech Construction had bought a ship, the Patricia III, in 2007, to strip down and sell.
Scunthorpe magistrates hear that the former Polish fishing vessel, built in the 1970s, had been lying unused in Grimsby Dock for three years.
Workers carried out the demolition job between December 2007 and February 2008.
But an investigation carried out by the Health and Safety Executive found that the company had not carried out an adequate survey of the vessel to highlight the presence of asbestos containing materials before work began.
The company, of New Green Farm, Marsh Lane, Barrow Haven, admitted that it breached asbestos control regulations.
As well as the fine, it was ordered to pay £5,000 costs.
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