Benjamin Luke Hannaford, 47, has pleaded guilty to charges over his handling of asbestos found in a roof. Photo: Michelle Kroll.
A sole trader went “on a frolic” during his unsafe handling of asbestos and risked multiple people’s health, a court has heard.
Benjamin Luke Hannaford, 47, pleaded guilty in the ACT Magistrates Court on Friday (29 August) to one charge of failing to comply with a health and safety duty, causing a risk of death or serious injury.
The court heard the charge related to offending in June and July 2022, when Mr Hannaford and a worker were removing roofing sheets that contained asbestos at a Canberra property.
The material was then stored at one property and left there for three weeks before it was moved to another location.
On Friday, Mr Hannaford’s defence lawyer said that at the time, his client couldn’t afford to bring in a professional to remove the asbestos.
He said the material was left in a trailer after it was removed from the roof, which limited the risk of harm to the public.
“We would submit that the short turnaround time, while we don’t trivialise the risk of the exposure of the asbestos … lessens the objective seriousness of Mr Hannaford’s offending.”
He also said his client had ”double-bagged” the roofing sheets in the belief that would be enough to ensure the “safe containment” of the material.
The lawyer also called on the court to discount Mr Hannaford’s sentence in recognition of his guilty plea, and said he was facing ongoing health issues.
“He’s not in a position to work right now and a mandatory fine that is the maximum would financially cripple him,” he said.
During her submissions, prosecutor Sofia Janackovic said the court hadn’t heard specific details of his financial situation.
“In any event, if the defendant’s financial circumstances were not glowing, this court could still impose a significant penalty in spite of that,” she said.
She told the court of the prosecution’s concerns about how Mr Hannaford had handled and stored the asbestos.
“This is a risk which potentially carried grave consequences of illness such as lung cancer, mesothelioma or illnesses of that nature.”
Ms Janackovic said the danger posed by asbestos was well known in the community, and suggested that an alternative sentence could include community service.
“[The sentence should be] one that is significant enough [that others] think twice before going off on a frolic of their own and handling asbestos, or directing the workers to do so,” she said.
She asked Magistrate Ian Temby to take into account, when sentencing Mr Hannaford, a separate charge of failing to comply with a health and safety duty, causing a risk of death or serious injury.
Three other workplace health and safety charges were withdrawn during the hearing.
Magistrate Temby said the conduct posed a health risk not only to workers, but also to people living “in and around” the places where the asbestos was being stored.
He is expected to hand down his sentence in October.
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