Opinion

Asbestos - still a serious danger

Asbestos awareness day this week provides a good reason, says Barry Thompson, to remind all infrastructure personnel that they are still at risk from the deadly side effects of products containing the substance.

Asbestos awareness is an absolute priority in day to day work and the construction industry has a part to play in keeping the subject very much on the safety agenda.

Many think that asbestos and the diseases it causes are for older workers to worry about but this is absolutely not the case. Asbestos is the single biggest cause of work related deaths in the UK 

When it comes to asbestos we are talking about people’s health and their lives. The fact is that today’s construction workers are still at risk. We are looking at a very real danger which can have devastating effects on not only individual workers but also their friends and family.

Many think that asbestos and the diseases it causes are for older workers to worry about but this is absolutely not the case. Asbestos is the single biggest cause of work related deaths in the UK and even eclipses those caused by road traffic accidents.”

Diseases caused by exposure to asbestos include asbestosis, lung cancer, pleural thickening and plaques and the fatal cancer mesothelioma and it can take many years before the victim becomes unwell. The only proven cause of mesothelioma is asbestos exposure. 

Asbestos was finally banned in all its forms in the UK in 1999 which means that any building constructed or refurbished prior to the year 2000 has the potential to have within it asbestos containing materials.

And it is not just at work where we can be at risk as asbestos has been added to many products which can be found in the home. These can include soffit and facia boards, textured coatings such as “Artex” and corrugated cement sheeting.

Asbestos awareness training plays such a vital part in giving construction workers the knowledge and information they need to help protect themselves and others from this deadly mineral. It is known that asbestos has in the past been added to over 3000 different products, many of which can be found in building and structures around the UK.

It is shocking that many of today’s tradesmen are still being needlessly exposed, in many cases this is through ignorance, which is completely unacceptable. Larger contractors have a part to play in ensuring that the contractors in their supply chain are providing asbestos awareness training for their workers where it is needed.

We as an industry cannot afford for people to be ill-informed around asbestos. This is the biggest risk the construction industry is facing and it’s getting bigger. We must also remember that it’s not just site workers that face the risk, but consultants and office workers too.

Asbestos - what to watch out for

In addition to training it is vital that workers remain vigilant when carrying out their duties. They should not be afraid to ask about the possible presence of asbestos containing materials where they are working. All of the following could be indicative about the presence of asbestos:

1.     Warning labels (these may be applied to known asbestos containing materials or presumed asbestos containing materials)

2.     The age of the building or structure (anything built or refurbished prior to the 2000 but the older it is the more likely asbestos is to be present).

3.     The type of product/material present. For example as asbestos was used to protect against fire it would not bye unreasonable to suspect that a fire door may contain asbestos!

Barry Thompson is health, safety, environment and quality partner for Osborne. He runs asbestos awareness courses for the contractor and has recently rolled out the company's asbestos handbook.