Firms fined after carrying out asbestos demolition

Two companies have been fined and a site manager given a suspended jail term after demolition work was carried out despite them knowing asbestos was present at the site, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) said.

Concerns were initially raised about unsafe work at the site on Greenheath Road in Cannock, Staffordshire, in September 2023.

An inspector visited the site, the HSE said, and found there was asbestos among the materials and debris, the presence of which was known about before work started.

Sohan Group Ltd, Maize Metals Ltd and Ali Raza Baig were sentenced at Birmingham Magistrates' Court for breaching construction regulations.

The HSE said its inspector went to the site on 7 September and found work had been stopped after asbestos was discovered.

A subsequent survey found 218 sq m (2,347 sq ft) of asbestos-containing materials and debris, the regulator added.

Investigators later found Wolverhampton-based Sohan Group, the client for the project, had found asbestos within the building ahead of work starting, according to the HSE.

A spokesperson said the findings were shared with the demolition firm Maize Metals, based in West Bromwich, which still went ahead with the work.

Sohan Group did not have a principal contractor to manage the project, the HSE said, and later appointed Disa Properties Ltd, represented by Baig, to clear the asbestos.

The HSE spokesperson said neither the company nor Baig held the necessary licence to carry out the asbestos clear-up.

He also failed to bring in a licensed contractor and make sure that appropriate measures were in place to prevent exposure to and spread of asbestos.

Asbestos was used in building materials until it was discovered that inhalation of fibres could cause cancers, but it is only considered dangerous when it is moved.

During Friday's hearing, Sohan Group pleaded guilty to breaching construction regulations and was fined £74,900 as well as being ordered to pay costs of £3,658.14, the HSE spokesperson said.

Maize Metals admitted breaching construction regulations and was fined £13,400 as well as being ordered to pay costs of £1,359.51.

Baig, of Alton Close in Amington, Staffordshire, pleaded guilty to breaching a construction regulation and was given a suspended 26-week prison sentence.

He was also given a court-ordered overnight curfew, disqualified from being a director for five years and ordered to pay costs of £5,899.

HSE inspector Rob Gidman said: "These companies and Mr Baig put workers and members of the public at risk of being exposed to a substance known to cause fatal lung disease."

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