The director of Nuneaton-based Abel (UK) has found himself with a 10-month prison sentence over the sale of a plant protection product and a paint stripper which contained banned substances.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) had been alerted by a complaint in August 2014, that Abel was selling a weed killer containing sodium chlorate. A substance not approved for that use because a safe level has not been established.
The company was also selling a paint stripper containing dichloromethane (DCM), something which was restricted under Regulation (EC) 1907/2006 on the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH). DCM has a restricted use due to its harmful properties to human health, and the fact that it has resulted in fatalities when it is not used properly.
It also became apparent during the HSE investigation, that Abel failed to check at the point of sale that the paint stripper was either being sold for use in industrial installations or, to appropriately certified professionals. Both were a condition of its sale.
By working with online resellers, the HSE managed to remove advertisements for these products, and served enforcement notices on Abel in order to prohibit further supply. However, these notices were ignored. The firm, whose services included mobile truck, fleet washing and pressure-washer street cleaning, was dissolved on 30 January 2018.
Nicholas Corbett, who currently runs Abel Group (Midlands) in Atherstone, Warwickshire following the closure of Abel (UK), pleaded guilty to breaching the Plant Protection Products Regulations SI 2011/2131 and the REACH Enforcement Regulations SI 2008/2852 at Warwick Crown Court.
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