An asbestos surveying company will have to pay out almost £40,000 after it was found guilty of failing to identify the presence of asbestos at two schools in Wales.
Guernsey-based Normandie Analytical Services carried out a series of type two asbestos surveys at Cardinal Newman Comprehensive School in Pontypridd and Aberdare Boys School, Aberdare, for the local authorities.
Full story here.
Selfridges, one of the UK’s most famous department stores, had to seal up and close the display windows in its London store after asbestos was discovered during a survey of the building.
Experts found the hazardous substance at the top of window frames in five out of 26 windows about three weeks ago and ordered its’ removal.
Read the full story here.
Having been running this website for just under a month now, we have reported on a multitude of hazards facing demolition crews around the world including everything from asbestos to bees. But, as far as we’re aware, the following report from Kuwait in unique in the world of demolition.
A circus owner allegedly threatened to let lions loose on the demolition team of the Anti-encroachment Committee and securitymen who came to remove the circus, reports Al-Watan Arabic daily.
Full story here.
JCB workers are being balloted over proposals to reduce their working hours as part of a bid to safeguard 330 jobs.
The plant manufacturer said it was in talks with the GMB union over the proposals and a vote would be held in the middle of next week.
Full details can be found here.
There are literally thousands of demolition-related videos on YouTube and the multitude of other video sharing websites but this ranks as one of my favourites. Not only is it unusual in that much of it is shot from the operator’s point of view but it also features (bizarrely) a Johnny Cash soundtrack!
Highly recommended.
Earth Exchange®, the UK’s leading construction waste recycling website, has been shortlisted by the Chartered Institution of Wastes Management (CIWM) for its 2008 award for Innovative Practice.
As a finalist in the CIWM’s awards for Environmental Excellence, www.earthexchange.com will also be considered for the overall 2008 Environmental Excellence Award.
Commenting on Earth Exchange’s success, Alex Albon, operations director said: “We are really pleased to receive this acknowledgement from the Chartered Institution of Waste Management. It reflects the potential that Earth Exchange has to help the construction industry meet the government’s target of halving the amount of waste it sends to landfill by 2012.”
He added: “On current projections, it is conceivable that in 12 months’ time Earth Exchange members could have exchanged 7.25 million tonnes of construction waste thereby avoiding landfill taxes and improving their environmental performance. By this time they could also have cut road haulage by 9 million miles and reduced fuel use by 5.8 million litres, cutting operating costs and reducing the carbon footprint of their businesses. Earth Exchange members are benefitting from a technological innovation that not only boosts their bottom line but also shrinks their carbon footprint – it’s a winning combination for business and the environment.”
Earth Exchange covers the entire UK with members ranging in size from large plcs with many sites to small operators with a single site. Materials that can be exchanged via the website currently include soil, crushed aggregate, topsoil, subsoil, compost, bricks, blocks, paving and pipe.
Earth Exchange has been described as a major breakthrough for the construction industry. It works by using real-time accurate mapping of actual and future construction sites – the locations where construction wastes are generated and where such wastes can be re-used. Members can state what and when materials will be available at each site and state what materials are required on their sites. Exchanges are made on terms agreed between members and can be swaps or trades. The arrival of Earth Exchange means that for the first time there will be accurate mapping of construction activity in the UK and a simple and accessible method of streamlining procurement and waste management.
In what must surely qualify as the most unusual dismantling job of the week (if not the year), work is about to start on the dismantling of a huge ski jump that was originally built for the 1952 Winter Olympics in Oslo.
As the artist’s impressions show, it will be a complex and fascinating job. More here.
Update: The demolition work can be viewed live here.
One of the biggest challenges facing any corporate company is that the bigger you get, the less flexible and responsive you tend to become.
Here at Demolition News, however, we have just discovered an independent company that has responded with impressive marketing savvy to take advantage of the much-lauded change in taxation on empty properties:
Rates on empty business premises came into force on April 1, 2008; owners having previously been granted relief on unoccupied properties by the 1988 Local Government and Finance Act.
Under that act empty industrial property was granted 100% relief while all other commercial property received 50% relief following an initial three months exemption. This is now a much talked about government policy in the current economic climate.
Although the new charge still allows relief for the first six months on industrial premises and three months for all other commercial property (it will not be available in relation to existing vacant buildings), the removal of relief thereafter has introduced a significant additional financial burden on property owners who have empty accommodation. The Management at MJ Finnigan Limited would like to offer all property owners currently suffering from this tax an opportunity to make the most of what may be seen as a difficult situation.
To read the full story, please click here.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has warned companies to ensure work at height is carried out safely after a man fell from a lorry in Lincoln.
European Metal Recycling Ltd, which has two depots in Lincoln but is based in Warrington, Cheshire, was fined £2,500 and ordered to pay £2,454 costs by Lincoln magistrates today (Wednesday 15 October) after pleading guilty to contravening Regulation 4 (1) of the Work at Height Regulations 2005, by failing to ensure work at height was carried out safely.
On 17 December 2007, an agency worker was repositioning fridge and freezer units on a curtain-sided trailer at the firm’s Beevor Street depot in Lincoln. He was standing on a fridge unit, attempting to move another unit on top of it to prevent it sticking out of the side of the vehicle, when he lost his balance and fell around ten feet to the ground.
The man, who is from Lincoln, dislocated fingers on his left hand, broke his left wrist and fractured vertebrae in his neck. He was in hospital for five days and had to wear a neck brace for three months.
Judith McNulty-Green, one of the HSE Inspectors for Lincolnshire, said: “Three million people work on or near vehicles as part of their regular job. Getting on and off a vehicle to carry out loading or unloading, and working at height on the vehicle, are often viewed as incidental to the main job. Because of this, the risks involved may not be properly considered by either workers or their managers. “Last year 45 people died and more than 3,000 suffered a serious injury after a fall from height at work. It is the most common cause of death at work.
“All companies must assess the risks from work they are undertaking at height and ensure that the work is planned properly and appropriate measures are taken so that workers are not at risk of falling. “This incident could have been avoided, and a man might not have been seriously injured if the company had sufficient procedures in place.”
