RAIL workers from York exposed to cancer-causing white asbestos may not know for 10 years if their health has been harmed.

A team of 130 men, including former York Carriageworks employees, was put at risk while refurbishing 1970s coaches at Wakefield firm Bombardier Prorail Ltd (BPL), a court heard yesterday.

The company was fined £14,000 and ordered to pay £15,650 costs after admitting six breaches of the Control of Asbestos at Work Regulations.

Wakefield magistrates heard that employees were exposed while stripping asbestos heat deflectors and piping from 400 carriages over 19 months from January 1996. The contract was worth £150,000 to £250,000 per coach.

Prosecutor Mike Elliker said diseases such as asbestosis, mesothelioma and lung cancer were not likely to appear for 10 years.

Afterwards, Malcolm Moore, of the Health and Safety Executive, welcomed the severity of the fine.

"We are quite happy because it does reflect the seriousness of the offence," he said.

"Asbestos is a known carcinogen and can cause harm if not handled properly. We cannot measure exposure levels at BPL because the systems of work varied."

BPL said it was confident there was "no discernible risk" to employees.

Monitoring during asbestos removal showed "no measurable difference" in air quality, the company said.

"We did not infringe the regulations either deliberately or flagrantly and we made serious efforts to ensure our practices were carried out in a safe and controlled manner," a spokesman said.

Scores of men found work at Bombardier after being made redundant by York Carriageworks in 1996.

One former Carriageworks employee who commutes daily from York to work at Bombardier today said the company had been "nave" rather than deliberately negligent.

He said: "Make no bones about it, asbestos kills you and anyone who breaks health and safety regulations deserves to be punished.

"But I think most people have had their minds put at rest because of the lengths the company has gone too since the asbestosis was discovered are tremendous."

He said all the workers had been offered one-to-one counselling and chest X-rays to determine the state of their health.

"It may be a case of shutting the gates after the horse has bolted, but what they are doing now is more than sufficient," he said.

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