£10,000 fine for burning asbestos waste

A Scottish building company has been fined £10,000 for dumping and burning asbestos waste as well as a gas cylinder and a weaver’s loom.

Lewis-based Cal Max Construction was charged with two offences related to the dumping and burning of around 10 tonnes of waste near a development in Newmarket.

Stornoway Sheriff Court heard the rubble came from a house demolished by Cal Max employees in Perceval Road North on the edge of Stornoway.

Rubble, including plastic pipes, cables and sheeting, was dumped with other rubbish from a new housing development the firm is building at Blackwater River, Newmarket.

Prosecutor David Teale said the asbestos pipes could have risked human health if they caught fire, according to a report in the Press and Journal.

Solicitor Angus Macdonald said Cal Max owner Calum Maclean fell seriously ill least year, which had put pressure on co-owner Calum Mackay.

Jamie Hepburn, the Environmental Protection Agency’s investigating officer said: “The burning of plastic is recognised as causing noxious fumes, and it is possible that people in close proximity may have inhaled some of these.

“The activities of Cal Max Construction at this site have undoubtedly resulted in the discharge of atmospheric pollutants and there are areas of ground on the site which may now be contaminated.”