Northside Demolitions fined after asbestos mishap

A northside demolition company has been fined after failing to remove asbestos from a construction site near a popular children’s playground and dining precinct.

Northside Demolitions has been fined $6000 after failing in its duty to ensure the health and safety of its employees while they were at work, after pleading guilty in Redcliffe Magistrates Court.

The matter was heard on November 17.

The court heard that from October 15, 2018, Northside Demolitions engaged with a development company to help demolish three homes along Landsborough Ave, Scarborough.

The properties are close to a popular dining precinct and Scarborough Beach Park.

All three houses appeared to have been built prior to 1990 and subsequent inspections and testing of materials confirmed they contained asbestos fibres in the wall sheeting, ceilings and soffits.

Redcliffe Magistrates Court.

On October 22 2018, the defendant quoted $49,750 plus GST for the demolition work, including the removal of bonded asbestos containing material (ACM).

A month later, Northside Demolitions was engaged to do the demolition and subcontracted a licensed asbestos removal company to remove the asbestos-containing soffit, walls and ceilings from two of the three residences.

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The defendant erroneously failed to identify the ACM in the third property.

On December 10 2018, Northside Demolition workers demolished the house at 145 Landsborough Ave, reducing it to ground level using an excavator.

Building waste and rubble was scraped into rough piles.

Asbestos containing material hadn’t been removed prior to the demolition and there were visible pieces of ACM (such as wall sheeting) in those piles.

On December 11 2018, as workers were demolishing the neighbouring property, a member of the public contacted Workplace Health and Safety Queensland with concerns about ACM.

A WHSQ inspector attended the site later that day and took samples of suspected ACM on the property.

Of the 11 samples taken, 10 contained chrysolite asbestos and two contained amosite asbestos.

On December 14, 2018, WHSQ issued the defendant with an Improvement Notice to remediate and decontaminate the property.

The defendant complied with the notice and undertook decontamination of the property by removing all visible ACM and removing soil and other debris contaminated with asbestos fibres.

Removing asbestos is a dangerous task. PHOTO: FILE

A clearance certificate for the property was provided, which confirmed decontamination.

In sentencing, Magistrate Mark Bucknall noted the risks from asbestos are well-known and it was particularly concerning that an experienced operator failed to make the relevant inquiries for presence of ACM, which it had done on the neighbouring properties.

The demolition works undertaken were in a residential area, in proximity to other residences and community spaces which put at risk members of the public as well as the defendant’s own workers.

Magistrate Bucknall noted it was a member of the public who had been concerned at the treatment of asbestos on the site and raised the alarm with WHSQ.

He took into account an early guilty plea, the defendant’s co-operation with the investigation, its compliance with the notices issued by WHSQ and the satisfactory remediation of the site. Magistrate Bucknall considered the defendant’s lack of previous convictions quite significant for a company involved in the industry for 40 years.

His Honour also noted the company had effectively ceased operating, with the retirement of the director.

Northside Demolitions was fined $6000, plus court and testing costs of just over $2000.

No conviction was recorded.