A major pub company has been fined for health and safety breaches after some workers were exposed to asbestos during a pub refurbishment.
The White Horse pub in Darlington, owned by Mitchells & Butlers Retail Ltd, was being refurbished in June 2007 when three electricians and two plumbers were working in the kitchen area. The ceiling tiles contained asbestos and the workers were exposed to fibres when dust and debris fell onto their faces as they were drilling into the tiles.
Bishop Auckland Magistrates Court heard that Mitchell & Butlers had commissioned a survey to check for asbestos before work started on the pub but that survey only covered those areas where work was due to be carried out. It was only decided that the kitchen would be included in the refurbishment after the survey had been completed.
The company was fined £14,001 and ordered to pay over £11,000 after pleading guilty to health and safety breaches. Over 4,000 people die from asbestos-related diseases each year, making it the biggest single cause of work-related deaths.