August 2006
New HSE Asbestos Awareness Campaign
The Health & Safety Executive are running an asbestos awareness campaign from September to October 2006. The new "Don't take the gamble" campaign is aimed at workers who may work on asbestos that falls outside the licensing regime.
The campaign has been launched to educate employers and employees about the risks involved when working with asbestos.
Exposure to Asbestos - The Risks
Many people are aware of the risks posed by exposure to asbestos containing materials. Breathing in asbestos fibres may lead to a number of serious diseases. These include:
- Asbestosis, fibrosis or scarring of the lungs
- Lung cancer
- Mesothelioma (cancer of the inner lining of the chest wall or the abdominal cavity)
- Diffuse pleural thickening
There is a rising trend in the number of asbestos related deaths and new cases each year.
The annual average rates of new assessments of asbestosis in 2002-2004 by industry is as follows:
- Construction (including insulation work and stripping) had the highest rate, at 16.4 cases per 100,000 employees
- Extraction, energy and water supply at 9.4 per 100,000
- Manufacturing at 7.3 per 100,000
Shown below is the number of new disablement benefit cases for asbestosis assessed each year under the Industrial Injuries Scheme. The number has risen erratically since the early 1980s, with the trend strongly increasing since the late 1990s reaching a peak of just over 800 in 2005.
Repeated low-level exposure may lead to such diseases, high levels exposure of extended periods is clearly linked to these diseases. Typically there is a significant time delay between initial exposure and the onset of symptoms, this varies between 15 and 60 years.
The only realistic way to prevent such diseases is raising the awareness of employers and employees of the risks and likely routes of exposure to asbestos.
It is always worth bearing in mind that exposure may occur in domestic situations and this may be long term.
Duties
The HSE have produced a new information pack containing a checklist that provides basic guidance on how to comply with your legal duties.
The legal basis of the duty to manage asbestos is contained in regulation 4 of the Control of Asbestos at Work regulations. The duty holder must:
- Take reasonable steps to find out if there are asbestos containing materials (ACMs) in non-domestic premises and to assess amount and condition.
- Presume that materials do contain asbestos unless there is strong evidence that they do not.
- Make and keep up to date records of the location and condition of the ACMs.
- Assess the risk of persons being exposed to fibres from the ACMs.
- Prepare a plan that details how identified risk will be properly managed.
- Take all steps necessary to put the plan into action.
- Review and monitor the plan and the arrangements made so that the plan remains relevant and up to date.
- Provide information on the location and condition of any ACMs to any persons liable to work on or disturb them.
The duty holder is often the person or organisation that has responsibility for maintaining or repairing non-domestic premises through an explicit agreement such as a tenancy agreement or contract.
The campaign is aimed at all types of business; big and small, across a wide range of industrial and commercial sectors. It recognises that the possibility of significant exposure is widespread and is not restricted to traditionally high risk areas such as construction and manufacturing. Any building having certain age or condition characteristics is a potential source of asbestos fibres.
A variety of posters, checklists and cards are available from the HSE as part of the campaign.
If you feel that there is a need to better understand the risks posed by asbestos in your workplace please contact Dr. Richard Whitaker on 01788 538 150.
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