Asbestos & You: Know the Facts Whatever Age
Construction Health & Safety Group (CHSG)
Delivering affordable, quality training to the Construction & Associated Industries since 1952.
Despite being banned in 1999, asbestos and asbestosis-related diseases haven't gone away - nowadays every builder, carpenter, electrician, joiner, plasterer, plumber or roofer will encounter asbestos at least once on a job during their career as it can still be found in millions of homes and buildings.
This week HSE has launched a new campaign, "Asbestos & You", to remind people working in construction trades to manage the risks associated with asbestos should it be found.
?
What are the Dangers?
Asbestosis-related diseases are the single greatest cause of work-related deaths in Great Britain and can affect people decades later after exposure, so tradespeople finding asbestos now can be affected much later in life.
If it is disturbed without correct measures or not maintained properly in place once found it can cause harmful fibres to be released into the air - once these are breathed in they can cause asbestos-related diseases (mesothelioma, asbestos related lung cancer, asbestosis, and pleural thickening) which can only be detectable 20-30 years after exposure.
?
What Can I do to be More Aware of Asbestos?
The HSE have released a handy reference booklet to explain the basics of identifying asbestos and what to do, and a series of task sheets explaining good practice.
?