This month, a report by the BBC highlighted the growing problem of dumping hazardous waste, including asbestos.

Over the last nine months, Northumberland County Council has dealt with 24 cases, racking up a bill of over £10,000. Most of the dumped asbestos is the old corrugated sheet type which was widely used across the county in old colliery houses, farms and commercial premises.

As these properties have been modernised, and the asbestos removed, it has fallen into the hands of unscrupulous waste contractors who are believed to have been fly-tipping to save costs.

Cabinet member, Ian Swithenbank, expressed his concerns saying that if homeowners are unable to prove their hazardous waste has been removed by a registered operative they run “the real risk of being prosecuted if any dumped waste is traced back to them.”

There are strict rules concerning its removal and disposal by a licensed operator but unlicensed waste contractors have been dumping it to save costs, the authority added.

Phil Franks, director at Franks Portlock commented on the issue, saying: “There is a duty of care that all removal of asbestos containing materials is carried out in accordance with Government and industry regulations. To not adhere to this, puts the public at risk of being exposed to highly dangerous material that can result in serious chronic illnesses.

“At Franks Portlock, we have a wealth of experience in managing environmental risk in order to comply with UK safety regulations. We have the technical capabilities and expertise to undertake projects of any scale and would encourage anyone who needs the services of an asbestos professional to get in touch with us.”

Franks Portlock has recently made a substantial sponsorship contribution towards 16 year old Simone Abley’s quest to compete at the 2016 Junior World Taekwondo Championships.

The championships will take place in Burnaby, Canada from 16th-20th November, where Simone has been selected to represent Great Britain as part of a 14 strong squad

In 2015 Simone was one of the youngest athletes in the GB Junior Team. This year Simone will represent GB for the fourth time and attend her second world championships as a GB athlete. To qualify for the World Championships, Simone has competed 4 times abroad this year. For the 2016/17 Academic year Simone has been accepted onto the TASS (Talented Athlete Scholarship Scheme) where she will receive additional support and have full medical insurance cover.

Stephen Portlock, Company Director at Franks Portlock said: “Both my children are members of the Salamander Taekwondo club and have been training with Simone and her brothers for a number of years. For Simone to be selected to represent the country at the World Championships is fantastic for her, the club and the North East. The family set up a Just Giving page to help Simone meet her £1,600 goal and I was happy to give a contribution towards sending her. I wish Simone and the rest of the GB team the best of luck!”

We are proud to be supporting grassroots sports in our local community by sponsoring Hebburn Cricket Club for this season. As the local club for players in the whole of Tyneside, Hebburn CC is a friendly team who want to improve, supported by a hard working committee who are open to new members and ideas.

As an asbestos management and consultancy firm, health is always top of our agenda and our sponsorship of Hebburn CC helps us to live by our value of enhancing and promoting good health.

Competing in the Northumberland Cricket League, Hebburn CC have plenty of matches set for 2016’s season and we wish them the best of luck!

Franks Portlock has made two important additions to our site-based team at Seascale Nuclear Site to support increasing project demands at the nuclear plant.

Simon Burrow and David Grey have recently joined us as asbestos analyst operatives within our site-based team at Seascale Nuclear Site. They will support a number of new on-site asbestos consultancy, inspection, testing and management projects, further enhancing our sizeable Seascale-based team.

David Grey joined us to support and undertake Air Monitoring and 4 Stage Clearance works throughout the Seascale Nuclear site. David has worked in the asbestos industry since 2004 and prior to joining Franks Portlock worked both in the UK and Hong Kong as a laboratory technician undertaking soil testing, material and chemical analysis. More recently he worked as an asbestos surveyor for UKAS accredited testing laboratories and inspection bodies.

David brings with him a wealth of knowledge and experience in both the asbestos industry and the wider material analysis field, and he will add an extra dimension to the existing team and bring a fresh perspective from outside the nuclear sector. We are looking forward to his development as an integral part of the analytical framework and to the professional support he will bring to an already dedicated and dynamic Seascale Nuclear team.

Simon Burrow will also be undertaking Air Monitoring and 4 Stage Clearance works throughout the Seascale Nuclear site, supporting the Site Wide Analytical Contract awarded to Franks Portlock in 2014. Simon has worked in the asbestos industry since 2011 and, prior to joining the company, was employed in a similar role at Magnox, a multisite nuclear operator with operations ranging from power generation to nuclear decommissioning and conventional demolition.

The expansion to the Seascale Nuclear analytical team further strengthens our ability and commitment to meet the requirements of our customers, and the addition of Simon brings further experience in both the asbestos and nuclear fields.

The next few years will bring an ever increasing demand to the decommissioning processes on the Seascale Nuclear site and as an asbestos consultancy professional with nuclear experience, Simon will play an instrumental part in Franks Portlock’s work at Seascale Nuclear.