A BUILDING contractor has been made to pay almost £27,000 after workers were exposed to asbestos-containing materials on a construction site.

Fadil Adil, of Coniston Road, Bromley, was prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) for the way work was carried out on the site he was in charge of, in Bromley High Street between June 21 and 29 last year (2010).

The project involved demolishing a building which had a restaurant on the ground floor and flats above.

And during the work asbestos insulating boards in the restaurant’s ceiling were broken up by three workmen who were demolishing the building using sledgehammers and hand-operated breakers, meaning they could have been exposed to asbestos fibres.

An HSE investigation found that the defendant did not have a licence to work with asbestos, nor was he trained in construction management.

And it found that at no point did Adil carry out an asbestos survey, nor did he provide any guidance to the workmen regarding the presence of asbestos.

HSE inspector Ian Seabrook said: “Sadly, this kind of incident is all too familiar because the defendant’s actions meant that his colleagues were more than likely exposed to asbestos fibres.

“The dangers of asbestos are well known; it is the single greatest cause of work-related deaths in the UK with around 1,000 tradesmen dying each year from asbestos-related diseases.

“Anyone working with these sorts of materials has to commission an asbestos survey to ascertain the level of work needed and then have asbestos removed in a controlled manner by a licensed contractor.”

At the City of London Magistrates’ Court last Wednesday Adil pleaded guilty to breaching the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2006, and the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2007.

He was fined £19,300 and ordered to pay costs of £7,654.