The Northern Echo 3rd June 2008 reported that the chairman of the inquiry into the asbestos scandal at a council has defended the decision not to name the people behind the incident.
Staff at a County Durham sports centre were left to work unprotected with the toxic materials for five years after their bosses were warned about the danger.
A report into the incident was published last week, but the Wear Valley District Council officials involved are not named, despite calls from victims to bring their bosses to account.
Peter Kemp was appointed the inquiry's independent chairman last year. The retired council chief executive, from Northumberland, was asked to find out what happened to a 2001 asbestos report for Woodhouse Close Leisure Centre, in Bishop Auckland.
He concluded that the warning was never acted on because officers did not know who was supposed to take responsibility for asbestos. Mr Kemp said none of the officials who were interviewed about the incident were named, because the council did not ask the inquiry panel to do so. Mr Kemp said: "We were not asked to name anybody. We were asked to find the root cause of the incident. "We stuck firmly to the terms of reference set by the council and we had no problem with them."
The council did not act on the warning until a member of staff reported the authority to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) in 2006.
The HSE took the case to court in August last year, and the council was fined £18,000. After guilty pleas to six offences, the court was told that all the senior officers in charge in 2001 had since left the council.
To read the full report please click on the link below.
http://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/news/topstories/display.var.2314062.0.asbestos_inquiry_chairman_defends_decision_on_names.php
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