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The Nottingham Crown Court charged Derby City Council £50,000 with costs of £20,000 after the asbestos safety violations against them has been proved.
Silverhill Primary School, Mickleover, Derby, had been closed for three months due to an asbestos scare as asbestos was disturbed during a window replacement work.
Malignant brown asbestos was disturbed during windows were being replaced in February and March 2004 at Silverhill Primary School. The work lasted three weeks and both students and staff members were present during the work.
The officials asked to stop the work once the problem was identified. They closed the school then for several weeks for carrying out the decontamination work.
Somebody approached the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) with a complaint regarding the issue. The prosecution was brought by HSE.
The initial window repairs were carried out by 'Horizon Windows and Glass'. The owner of this company, Mr Peter Westran was fined £5,000 and the company was further fined £10,000.
Officials said that the final bill for the clean-up and equipment replacement was £640,000.
Asbestos is a naturally occurring fibrous silicate mineral popular in manufacturing and industry due to its strength, chemical and thermal stability. It was a common building material from 1945 until 1975 and was used in wall and ceiling panels, insulation and lagging. There are many old schools containing asbestos. Even the use of drawing pins in asbestos cement walls could release deadly fibres into the air which can cause deadly diseases like asbestosis, mesothelioma etc.
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