Retailer Fined for Asbestos Risk to Customers, Staff and Workers
UK retailer Marks & Spencer has been fined the equivalent of $1,560,000 for failing to protect its customers, staff and other workers from potential exposure to asbestos.
People’s health was placed at risk during renovations of stores in Reading and Bournemouth, England in 2006 and 2007. Asbestos tiles fell from the ceiling to the floor of the Reading store while the store was open to the public.
Bournemouth Crown Court Judge Christopher Harvey Clark told Bournemouth Crown Court that the company “turned a blind eye to what was happening.”
Court heard that contractors removing asbestos during the renovations had not followed proper safety procedures and Marks & Spencer should have ensured that safe removal practices were undertaken.
Inhalation of asbestos fibers can cause fatal lung disease.
