Belfast Health and Social Care Trust (BHSCT) was today fined £10,000 plus costs of £1,750 at Laganside Crown Court after previously pleading guilty to three breaches of health and safety regulations.

The case arose following an investigation conducted by the Health and Safety Executive for Northern Ireland (HSENI) into an incident which occurred in their estates building at the Belfast City Hospital on 14 January 2011.

Two construction workers were potentially exposed to asbestos when repairing a floor. The work involved the removal of a section of a ceiling in order to gain access to the floor above. The ceiling was constructed of asbestos insulation board (AIB), a material commonly used in the construction of many buildings before its use was prohibited in 1999.

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The BHSCT had carried out asbestos surveys of its buildings and the estates building was known to contain asbestos but this information was not passed on to their maintenance contractors. A number of staff in key roles within BHSCT were not trained in the management of asbestos and did not have a sufficient grasp of how the risks should be managed.

Investigating Inspector Hugh Moss said: "This case highlights the importance of not only having accurate and up-to-date asbestos surveys carried out, but also ensuring that this information is given to anyone who carries out work on premises which are known to contain asbestos. There is no such thing as a safe level of asbestos and cases like this should serve to remind tradesmen and those involved in maintenance activities that asbestos remains a significant danger to their health."

(CD)