HSE halts construction at one in five Edinburgh refurb sites

The Health & Safety Executive (HSE) has halted work on almost one in five of the construction sites visited in Edinburgh as part of an inspection initiative covering 1,500 refurbishment sites across the UK.

HSE inspectors visited 39 sites on which they saw 48 contractors and issued four Prohibition Notices for dangerous working at height. A further two notices were issued for very poor conditions when using power tools on stonework.

A total of seven sites required formal action to be taken.

Jim Skilling, HSE principal construction inspector, said: "Our main concern was unsafe working at height. There were also issues relating to poor welfare conditions for workers.

“I was also unhappy to find stoneworkers putting themselves at risk, by exposing themselves to large volumes of silica – dust produced when grinding stone. Although not a risk to the public, this can lead to stoneworkers developing chronic breathing difficulties and even lung cancer.”

The drive to target refurbishment sites came after 38 workers died last year on refurbishment and repair jobs. Earlier this month the HSE issued warnings to 40% of sites visited during spot checks in Oldham and Rochdale.

The drive to target refurbishment sites came after 38 workers died last year on refurbishment and repair jobs, representing over half (52%) of the workers who died on construction sites in the period 2007-2008. This figure is line with the previous year (2006-2007).

In Scotland in 2007-2008, there were 11 fatalities in the construction sector, and 1,479 people were injured.