Scotland's largest health board has been fined £6,000 for failing to clear asbestos from the Royal Hospital for Sick Children in Glasgow.

According to Herald Scotland, NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde (GGC) admitted to breaching asbestos regulations by having the poisonous fibres in a basement plant room at the hospital.

It was said the board took no action after a low-risk problem was mentioned during a survey carried out in 2009. Glasgow Sheriff Court heard how the 2009 survey had revealed the presence of asbestos containing materials (ACMs) in a number of places within the plant room. At the time it said that they were in good condition and were a low risk. The survey recommended the ACMs should be labelled and monitored so any future deterioration could be managed. By 2011, the assessment was deemed to be high-risk, by which time staff had been exposed. The decision was made following a survey in January of that year before a new MRI scanner was installed at the hospital. It was discovered that the ACMs were in a 'poor condition' and therefore posed a high risk.

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Air and swab samples for asbestos fibres were taken and tested positive and the matter was reported to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).

A subsequent investigation by the HSE found that the health board had taken no action since the 2009 report to monitor the plant room, such as labelling the ACMs or establishing measures to maintain the materials stayed in good condition.

While the condition had deteriorated from good and low risk, to poor and high risk, it was not known how or when the ACMs had been damaged.

Employees of the health board and outside contractors regularly were to access the plant room and could have potentially been exposed to the harmful asbestos fibres while carrying out maintenance work. Managers at the health board were interviewed under caution by HSE officials about contamination of areas within the hospital. In October 2011, the matter was reported by the HSE.

HSE Inspector Eve Macready said: "The dangers posed by the presence of asbestos are clear. There is no known safe limit and it is often many years after exposure before asbestos-related diseases appear - so it is important that exposure to asbestos fibres is kept to an absolute minimum.

"Glasgow health board failed in its duty to properly manage the risks of asbestos in its premises and as a result a number of employees and external contractors have potentially been exposed to harmful fibres."

Asbestos was widely used in industry due to its insulation and heat and fire resistant qualities, however it was banned in the UK after it emerged exposure to the substance could cause serious health problems.

(JP/MH)