Jeremy Uphill, the Director of Sarum Asbestos Limited, has pleaded guilty to six charges of negligence.
Who are Sarum Asbestos Limited?
Sarum Asbestos Limited are based in Salisbury. They advertise themselves as ‘asbestos survey experts’ who provided a wealth of services, which include:
- Asbestos awareness training
- General advice
- The encapsulation and removal of asbestos
Their website states that they are approved by the Environment Agency to carry and dispose of asbestos waste. In addition, they were an associate member of Asbestos Control and Abatement Division (ACAD), and an accredited member of Contractors Health and Safety Assessment Scheme (CHAS).
With all these accreditations, you would think you were in safe hands if you were to employ the company for any work involving asbestos. Sadly, this couldn’t be further from the truth.
What acts of negligence did the company commit?
Jeremy Uphill and his company were responsible for:
- Not providing employees with any training on how to remove asbestos. Instead, one employee was instructed to remove asbestos lagging ‘by hand.’
- Allowing employees to use crowbars to remove asbestos ceiling panels. This is despite official advice that panels should be kept intact to reduce the amount of asbestos fibres that are released.
- Not providing employees with adequate personal protection equipment. Sadly, many employees wore their own clothes and there were no decontamination facilities. Furthermore, workers returned home in their work clothes – which meant the asbestos came home with them too. This could lead to their families and friends also being exposed to asbestos.
- Carrying out an asbestos survey of a care home where they found only 25 metres of asbestos present. A further survey of the building carried out by a different company estimated that there was around 138 metres of the hazardous material.
What happened in the investigation and court case?
Following an investigation by the Health and Safety Executive, the case was heard at Salisbury Crown Court in August. The initial investigation was sparked in May 2013 as a result of several clients raising their concerns. In July 2013, the HSE spoke to Mr Uphill and ‘identified failings.’ Despite this, the company continued to carry out work whilst it was unlicensed.
Simon Morgan, who prosecuted the case, said that Mr Uphill had, “a cavalier attitude to safety.”
The company is now in liquidation after Mr Uphill pleaded guilty to six charges of negligence. He received a six month prison sentence which was suspended for two years along with a £100,000 fine.
Our view:
It is extremely disappointing to see such a light punishment for this grossly negligent work. Sarum Asbestos Limited has put its employees, their families and the general public at risk of developing asbestos conditions. The people exposed to the asbestos now face a lengthy wait to see if they will develop a terrible disease. Unfortunately, there is nothing they can do until they being to suffer from symptoms.
Furthermore, we hope that the company’s insurance details are kept safe as these will be vital if victims need to claim asbestos compensation in the future.
How can we help?
If you require help pursuing an asbestos compensation claim for mesothelioma or a different asbestos disease please contact us today. You can call us on our Freephone number 0800 038 6767. Alternatively, please head over to our ‘contact us’ page, complete the form and we will be in touch.