An unknown number of employees at Woodhouse Close Leisure Complex, owned by Wear Valley District Council in the U.K., worked without protection and without notice or warnings for five years after inspectors discovered asbestos at the sports center. Although inspectors told the council in 2001 that there was asbestos in the facility’s boiler room, the issue was ignored until January 2006, when a worker filed a formal complaint against the council. The district council has been fined £18,000 for what it admits were breaches of health and safety laws. Asbestos can cause diseases such as mesothelioma, a rare cancer period At least 3 people worked full-time in the boiler room during the 5 year period, but because there are no monitoring records, it is unclear how many workers have been exposed and what the extent of the exposures have been.
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