Faked testing report costs Asbestos Analyst £6K

In November 2015 Barrie Lyons had been contracted to carry out the final inspection and air testing at a construction site in Manchester, following licensed asbestos removal. The job required him to carry out a thorough examination of the area where the asbestos had been removed, and collect and evaluate air samples to ensure it was free of the dangerous fibres. Greater Manchester Magistrates’Court was told that the report Lyons submitted to his employer and the client indicated that he had completed a suitable site inspection. However, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that he had not carried out the correct amount of air sampling. The executive said Lyons’“published results could no longer be relied upon”because he had “deliberately falsified his report”. The asbestos removal contractor had to pay for another clearance test.

Lyons pleaded guilty to breaching s 7(a) of the Health and Safety at Work Act, for failing to take reasonable care for his health and the health of others. He was fined £2,000 plus £3,905 in costs. HSE inspector Matthew Greenly said after the hearing: “Asbestos analysts play a vital role in ensuring that areas are safe to enter after asbestos is removed. Mr Lyons sadly chose on this occasion to falsify his records which was a massive abuse of the trust placed in him by the client. “This deliberate act increased the risk of numerous people potentially being exposed to asbestos, a risk Mr Lyons would be very well aware of from his experience, all to save a little time and finish the
job early."

Source URL: https://www.ioshmagazine.com/article/faked-testing-report-costs-asbestos-analyst-ps6000