Omni-Pac (UK) Ltd was fined a total of £50,000 and ordered to pay costs of £86,000 in February, after pleading guilty to breaching sections 2 and 3 of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. The prosecution follows an Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigation into the condition of asbestos containing materials at the firm's site in Great Yarmouth in October 2003, which identified that they had failed to maintain such material throughout the site and also failed to adhere their own safety procedures. As a result, people could have been exposed to asbestos over a long period of time.
Air samples showed a high level of asbestos, with the main source of contamination from damaged and poorly maintained asbestos insulation on top of dryers used to produce egg cartons. Asbestos is the single greatest cause of work related deaths in Great Britain, with around 3,500 every year, and breathing in asbestos fibres can lead to serious diseases such as lung cancer.
In other asbestos related news, Northern Ireland have issued proposals for the Control of Asbestos Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2006. Like their Great Britain equivalent, they will combine the current legislation on controls, licensing and prohibitions into one set of Regulations, and effectively provide a tighter control for work with asbestos.
