One in five construction sites fail safety inspections in East Lancashire

Nearly one in five of the construction sites visited in East Lancashire last week were ordered to stop work due to health and safety concerns.

Inspectors from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) carried out checks at 38 sites in Blackburn, Rossendale and Hyndburn on 21 and 22 February, as part of a month long initiative.

A total of seven sites were found not to meet legally required health and safety standards, and received prohibition notices as a result. Six of the notices stopped unsafe work being carried out at height.

The inspections are taking place across the North West after eight construction workers lost their lives and more than 1,000 were injured in the region between April 2009 and March 2010.

Half of the deaths occurred during refurbishment, repair and maintenance activities, which are the main focus of the latest HSE inspections being carried out up until Friday 11 March.

Inspectors are making unannounced visits to sites to ensure that work at height is being managed safely, sites are in good order, and the risk of exposure to asbestos is being properly managed.

Allen Shute, HSE Inspector for Construction, said:

"Workers' lives were potentially being put at risk on nearly a fifth of the sites we visited in just two days. That is a sobering statistic.

"Falls from height are one of the main causes of workplace deaths in the UK so it's both disappointing and worrying that the majority of the prohibition notices we issued were because companies were found not to be taking this risk seriously enough.

"We will continue to visit small construction sites, where refurbishment work is taking place, during the rest of the initiative. The safety of workers must be a top priority and we will not hesitate to take action when necessary."

Inspectors spoke to 45 contractors during their visits in East Lancashire. A health and safety awareness officer also visited small domestic refurbishment sites to offer free advice and guidance.

This year, as part of ensuring risks from asbestos are properly managed, HSE is checking that asbestos surveys have been carried out, when appropriate, before refurbishment work starts.

Many workers believe that, because asbestos has been banned as a building material, it is no longer a threat to them. But any premises built or refurbished before 2000 could still contain asbestos.

HSE REF HSE/NW/04ResultsLancashire