Fined for asbestos breach

Christchurch firm Blakely Construction Limited has been fined for not stopping work once asbestos had been found on the site they were working on

A construction company has been fined $45,000 for failing to properly identify and manage asbestos at a demolition site.

Blakely Construction Ltd in Christchurch was contracted to demolish buildings on Edgeware Rd in March last year.

It hired a specialist contractor to remove 140 Super Six roofing sheets that contained asbestos. During that work the contractor identified further asbestos contamination on site and advised Blakely Construction.

Demolition work continued and when more sheets were found and accidentally broken up, Blakely Construction's site manager instructed staff to "carry on working around the matter by pushing it aside".

WorkSafe said the pattern of finding asbestos but continuing to work around it when it needed to be dealt with by asbestos specialists continued for more than a week.

Throughout the demolition, an excavator moved around the site, potentially spreading asbestos contamination. WorkSafe received a complaint in March last year and issued a prohibition notice the same day.

Blakely Construction was convicted on two charges under the Health and Safety in Employment Act and was sentenced yesterday in the Christchurch District Court.

WorkSafe's deputy general manager of assessments, Jo Pugh, said the company should have identified all asbestos-containing materials before demolition started so that they could be removed safely.

"Once the company became aware of asbestos contamination it should have stopped work on site immediately and ensured that it was fully decontaminated before resuming work.

"There are clear rules around asbestos and as an experienced demolition contractor, Blakely Construction had no excuse for not meeting its obligations to its workers and those who may have been in the vicinity."