Asbestos exposure still a serious problem, says Great British survey 25 April 2012

Some plant duty-holders and contractors are still not aware of their asbestos responsibilities and could be at risk of asbestos exposure.

That worrying view is chief among the findings of The Great British Asbestos in Buildings Survey 2011, now published.

The industry wide survey, from the UKAS accredited Asbestos Industry Group, was carried out throughout 2011 by engineering professionals representing a range of business sizes and disciplines from across the UK.

"This industry survey has captured an up-to-date set of responses, which demonstrate that, although people are more aware of their asbestos management responsibilities, a large number of contractors and duty-holders are still putting themselves at risk from asbestos exposure," states Kieran Moon, commercial director at Redhills, which supported the survey.

"Some contractors [are] attending site without receiving adequate information with regards to asbestos containing materials," he explains.

On 6 April 2012 changes to the Control of Asbestos Regulations (CAR 2012) came into force, which could affect up to 730,000 workers in the UK.

The biggest change affects current 'non-licensable' work on asbestos, which represents the vast majority of all work carried out on asbestos within the UK – affecting some 1.8m workers annually.

The survey results show a clear requirement for appropriate awareness training for many of the industry sector participants. Increased awareness and increased training will prevent unnecessary exposure in the future.

"Although many of the respondents have received asbestos awareness training, the figures are still concerning for those who have not been properly trained and ultimately remain at risk of exposure to asbestos."

Redhills is the consultancy division of environmental support services firm Silverdell.

Brian Tinham

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