Eddie Stobart has been fined £133,000 for a number of failures that resulted in staff at its rail and container freight port in Widnes, Cheshire being exposed to asbestos. The logistics giant, which operates across the entire supply chain and provides services to many of the UK and Europe’s best-known brands, failed to prevent asbestos containing materials (ACMs) from being disturbed when excavation work was carried out at the site in 2018.
The investigation
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigated the asbestos disturbance, which took place in the first half of 2018 at the logistics firm’s Mersey Multimodal Gateway in Widnes.
Inspectors found that the business had plans to use the area to store empty containers. However, because heavy lift loaders had damaged the chosen ground while moving the containers, managers decided that site workers should scrape away the top layer to reach an older, more level surface below.
The HSE investigation discovered that Eddie Stobart did not carry out an asbestos survey prior to the excavation work commencing nor did it provide the workers carrying out the work with any asbestos-related training.
The excavation of the ground took place over a number of months and as the layers of soil were removed, the workers uncovered remnants of old buildings that contained asbestos. This hazardous material was left exposed at the surface. The HSE investigation also found that underground basement cavities had been excavated and then subsequently backfilled with rubble.
Several of the workers had reported concerns about the dust that was created during the excavation work and what it could contain. However, Eddie Stobart failed to report the incident correctly, the HSE found.
Training and procedures
From this investigation of the incident, the HSE reported that Eddie Stobart had not undertaken an asbestos survey before carrying out the site work to determine if any of the material excavated contained asbestos.
Additionally, the logistics firm had failed to carry out a risk assessment and also did not put suitable control measures in place to prevent or reduce the workforce’s exposure to the hazardous material. This failure also meant that it wasn’t possible to prevent the spread of asbestos containing materials from the site.
Significantly, none of the workers undertaking the excavation work at Mersey Multimodal Gateway in Widnes were given training on how to safely manage asbestos.
HSE investigators found that it was only several months after the excavation of the area had been completed that the business tested the soil and the subsequent survey identified ACMs in the spoil mounds. The hazardous material was also found scattered across the footprint of the site where the excavation had taken place.
Taking into consideration the severity of the situation, the HSE noted that the logistics business did not report the incident under the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013 (RIDDOR) within the required 10-day timeframe.
Prosecution, sentencing and learnings
Eddie Stobart Ltd pleaded guilty to two regulatory breaches at Manchester Magistrates’ Court on 4 November.
The business accepted that it had breached regulations 5 and 11(1) of the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012. In addition to its £133,000 fine, Eddie Stobart was also required to pay £9,260 in prosecution costs.
Commenting on the court’s verdict, HSE inspector Stuart Wood said: 'Asbestos was historically used in countless applications and can be found in a variety of places.
'The law requires businesses undertaking work in demolition, maintenance or any other work which exposes or is liable to expose employees to asbestos to assume ACMs are present unless you have evidence, such as an asbestos survey to indicate otherwise.
'The duty to manage asbestos relates to entire premises, including yard areas, not just buildings. There is no safe level of exposure to asbestos.'
The Runcorn and Widnes World published a statement from Eddie Stobart after it had been fined.
A company spokesperson said: 'Eddie Stobart Limited is, and always has been, fully committed to ensuring the health and safety of its employees, as recognised by the court.
'We set high standards across all our sites to ensure health and safety compliance.
'The occurrence in 2018 was an isolated incident in relation to one person.
'The court acknowledged the excellent health and safety record Eddie Stobart has and the fact that there has previously been no enforcement action taken by the HSE against the company in its 50 years of operation.'