On 6 March, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) announced the launch of their new campaign ‘Asbestos & You’ which aims to raise awareness of the dangers of asbestos that tradespeople continue to face today.
The campaign, called Asbestos and You, targets all tradespeople with a focus on younger workers in trades such as plastering and joinery. HSE wants to reach construction workers who started their career after the use of asbestos was banned in 1999.The HSE are concerned young workers perceive that the length of time for symptoms of asbestos-related diseases to develop, is something that only impacts older people who worked in the industry before the ban.
Used in hundreds of materials for the construction industry from the 1950s, asbestos can still be found in buildings built or refurbished before it was banned in 1999. Therefore, all construction workers could potentially still be exposed to this day.
HSE’s chief executive Sarah Albon said: “Asbestos exposure in Great Britain is still the single greatest cause of work-related deaths. We are committed to protecting people in the workplace and reducing future work-related ill health.
“Everyone working in construction today, of any age, must take the risk from asbestos seriously.
“Asbestos is dangerous when not maintained in a safe condition or if physically disturbed without the right measures in place to avoid fibres being released into the air.”
Asbestos is the single greatest cause of work-related deaths in the UK. UKATA Asbestos Awareness training will help keep tradespeople and others around them safe.
If you would like to get involved, you can find out more about the campaign here.
Established in 2008, UKATA is a highly respected, leading authority on asbestos training. UKATA’s passion is to both maintain and improve asbestos training, ensuring the highest standards are upheld by means of continuous quality assessment of UKATA training provided by our members.
UKATA continuously works within current legislation as a minimum, whilst collaborating with industry partners to ensure that the UK has the highest standards of asbestos safety.
UKATA freely shares knowledge and information both on the website and across social media, demonstrating that education remains the number one priority.
To find a UKATA approved asbestos training provider near you, visit www.ukata.org.uk or for free advice, call the team on 01246 824437.
Published on Tuesday 7th March 2023