Site manager gets community service over asbestos risk

Grant Prior 14 years ago
Share

A Welsh site manager has been given a two month suspended sentence and 150 hours of community service for exposing a bricklayer to asbestos.

Henry Bohlen,63, from Barry directed a bricklayer to demolish a wall that contained asbestos putting him at serious risk.

Bohlen was in Newport in May 2009 supervising a refurbishment job where a full site survey for asbestos had been carried out.

But he failed to check the warnings it gave and instructed Justin Jones, a bricklayer from Pontypridd, to manually demolish the known asbestos-containing fascia boards from the building.

Jones used a hammer and chisel to break up the board into fragments, which generated plumes of dust, releasing asbestos fibres into the air.

Jones continued working until another manager realised the danger and told him to stop. He had to undergo emergency decontamination as a result.

Architects employed by Newport City Council on the job had specifically designed the refurbishment work to avoid disturbing any of the asbestos-containing materials.

Bohlen later informed Newport City Council that additional work was needed on the building and, rather than waiting for the authorisation or amended plans from the architects, he went ahead and told Jones to carry out the work which led to him being exposed to the potentially deadly asbestos.

Bohlen pleaded guilty to breaching safety laws and was given a suspended sentence of two months. He was also ordered to carry out 150 hours of community service.

Inspector Liam Osborne said: “Henry Bohlen was a very experienced construction site manager and, by his own admission was aware of asbestos, the risks to health and the correct procedures that ought to have been followed.

“Rather than wait for the architect’s plans, consult the site survey, or if that was not available, to have taken a few minutes to check with other parties, Mr Bohlen went ahead and instructed Mr. Jones to do the work, which ultimately exposed him to the potentially deadly asbestos.

“This is something Mr Jones will have to live with for the rest of his life – wondering whether his site manager’s lack of consideration might lead to him contracting a deadly disease.”

Latest news

Ring road builder wanted at £4bn Somerset gigafactory

Bidders wanted for £60m job. Latest video update from site
37 mins ago

Kier seals HMP Glasgow super prison job at £684m

Deal finally signed to replace Scotland's notorious Barlinnie prison
2 hours ago

Fraudsters jailed after £22m construction tax scam

Gang sentenced after bogus payroll firm failed to pay VAT and CIS money to revenue
8 hours ago

MPB clinches substructure for HS2 Curzon Street station

Contracts for station superstructure to be let in coming months
24 hours ago

Flood defence spend rises to record £2.65bn over two-years

Key projects mapped as Government injects extra £250m to shore up defences
7 hours ago

Turnaround strategy continues to pay off for Careys

Profits continue to rise as £50m investment plan in full swing
1 day ago

All change on £800m Eastern Highways Alliance

Octavius and Winvic sweep up all three lots in new line-up
7 hours ago

Vinci bags first phase of £350m Stockport scheme

Contractor edges-out Willmott Dixon to start major mixed-used project
1 day ago

Crest Nicholson slumps to £144m loss

Incoming CEO review unearths further writedowns on fire remediation and closed divisions
1 day ago

Piling job cuts loom over safety regulator project delays

Bottleneck in high rise project approvals hits demolition and foundation firms
2 days ago

Developer Ghelamco swaps to self delivery for Battersea tower

John F Hunt no longer part of project team on 24-storey resi scheme
2 days ago

Pagabo starts renewal race for two mega frameworks

Contractors and developers asked for input on reshaping deals worth billions
1 day ago

Giant HS2 viaduct deck slide breaks records: Video

EKFB consortium oversees four-day installation
1 day ago

Ferrovial lands £230m National Grid tunnel

Work to start shortly on Grain to Tilbury electricity infrastructure upgrade
2 days ago

Tax-row tunnellers down tools on Balfour Hinkley job

Lodge allowance tax dispute hits tunnelling site
2 days ago

Go-ahead for Square Mile’s fifth tallest tower

Multiplex set to start 99 Bishopsgate job late next year
3 days ago

New £4.5bn funding model for stalled London rail schemes

Residential TIF funding offers key to unlock Bakerloo and DLR extensions
2 days ago

Speedy Hire latest to be hit by slow CP7 rail spending

Plant-hire firm flags issues with latest Network Rail spending round
2 days ago

FM Conway family chair steps away from business after Vinci deal

Joanne Conway steps away as Andrew Hansen becomes MD
2 days ago

Manchester Hotspur Press mill scheme rescued

37-storey student tower will now go-ahead
2 days ago

Watkin Jones to advance 260-room London aparthotel

Development deal for New Kent Road project
5 days ago

Plan for film studios switched to data centre cluster

Plans in for six data centre buildings in Buckinghamshire
6 days ago

Hunt for firm to deliver £75m Cambridge Civic Quarter

Work includes £41m Guildhall and £21m Corn Exchange revamps
5 days ago

Plans in for £200m Middlesbrough regen scheme

Wates is lined up to deliver landmark Gresham rental homes scheme
5 days ago

£600m Bristol shopping centre redevelopment approved

Galleries centre will be demolished for homes and offices quarter
5 days ago

Ant Yapi lands ultra prime London homes job

Prestige scheme replicates Regency mansions around nearby Regent’s Park
5 days ago

CITB survives another review

Report published after two more years talking about skills crisis
6 days ago

Strucktor wins record M&E package from Ardmore

Major subcontract on £240m Tribeca life science development
5 days ago

Over 800 high-rise resi jobs stalled by safety regulator

Building safety regulator project logjam hits Government growth plan
6 days ago

McAlpine under fire after another panel comes loose from hotel

High winds cause more problems at recently completed Woking hotel
7 days ago

Contractor services