Council lets deadly town hall asbestos farce run for 10 years

摘要

A London council has been ordered to pay fines and costs totalling ￡82,862 after it did nothing for 10 years to stop the exposure of its employees and contractors to asbestos in the basement of the town hall. The HSE only became aware of the problems at the town hall in mid-2012 after a local resident and activist submitted a Freedom of Information request to the London Borough of Waltham Forest to see some election expenses documentation. The council rejected the request on the grounds that the paperwork was contaminated with asbestos. The resident then complained to the HSE's Myth Busters Challenge Panel (HSB 409 p.8) on 20 July 2012. As the matter was a genuine health and safety issue and not a myth, the panel referred it to HSE inspectors, who started an investigation on 1 August 2012.