A former health and safety inspector has hit out at Bermuda's lax attitude to asbestos, claiming there are insufficient guidelines for dealing with the deadly dust meaning rogue builders can expose workers without worrying about serious sanction.

Harry Powell, who has 15 years experience in monitoring work sites here and in Canada, spoke out after Government issued a stop order on demolition at the former Club Med hotel last week after asbestos was disturbed by hustle truck workers.

Mr. Powell told The Royal Gazette: "I don't know the type — but when asbestos is airborne and they ingest it — their chances of getting a lung disease are probably 95 percent. It is a horrible death."

He said the sharp, tiny particles get stuck in the lungs and could not be removed and caused scarring and sometimes eventual suffocation.

But when the asbestos is not airborne the risk is considerably lower, said Mr. Powell, who retired two years ago.

He said there was no proper system to identify asbestos and warn people on job sites. He has suggested putting an abatement permit outside the building which would specify what type was involved and what safety precautions were needed.

If people saw the permit being flouted they would then know to raise the alarm, said Mr. Powell, but despite pushing for this system for years he said it had not been introduced.

"Post it in big six-inch letters 'Danger: Asbestos'. It's what you have to do in any other country."

Government has yet to identify how many workers were involved, what sort of danger they were exposed to and who was ultimately responsible for managing the site.

But Mr. Powell said the sanction for breaking the rules was a "slap on the wrist" or a request to stop work.

"The fine structure is an absolute joke. It is so small it's like pocket change. A company can say: 'fine me, I will finish the job'. They pay Government $1,000 and save $50,000 on the job.

"But what about the guy who is making off like a bandit getting paid huge amounts to do it properly and then paying some guys to pick it out with no protection. That's what costs the money — the protection and wrapping it properly."

He said there was a provision to fine for $500,000 but it had yet to be used because of legal technicalities.

"We don't seem to have the ability to prosecute under the Safety and Health Act."

Mr. Powell said five years of work had gone into drawing up a comprehensive set of safety regulations, only for it to be shelved.

"There are guidelines and a lot of good help but we don't have our own regulations."

Instead Bermuda relied on a mish-mash of guidelines borrowed from other jurisdictions. "Sometimes there's a gap."

He cited a case of a company fined a couple of thousand dollars for the death of a worker years ago on a building site.

The key to making workplaces safer was education said Mr. Powell. He said work safety should be under the Ministry of Labour not Health because of the need to change dangerous work practices.

Bermuda has some excellent asbestos abatement companies said Mr. Powell but he is convinced there are other companies out there risking lives with lax procedures for dealing with the danger.

"The difference is you can pay a bunch of dummies to remove it for $500 or get someone to do it properly for $50,000. It is all about money."

In 2003 Government released a report critical of how a construction company run by former Progressive Labour Party MP Arthur Pitcher broke safety rules when it demolished asbestos-ridden buildings at Southside three years earlier.

Workers had complained they removed the asbestos without protective masks and the company took away the material in a dangerous manner. The company ACL Ltd., had to be stopped by a senior Environmental Health Officer from dumping the debris at Tynes Bay incinerator "because of concerns the debris contained asbestos materials".

Asbestos waste must be disposed of at the Government quarry at Bailey's Bay by arrangement with the Waste Management Officer at Works and Engineering.

The report, which did not recommend any action against ACL, was criticised by the Opposition for being late, vague and a waste of time.

The stop order last week at Club Med occurred after hustle truck workers accidentally disturbed the asbestos before a professional abatement crew was hired to do the job, according to Government.

The site was being cleared to make way for a new five-star hotel development.